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|  In 1858 the government published a collection of laws that that had previously been in force when southen Italy fell under the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. One of these was a Valle San Giovanni emphyteutic lease (a real estate contract specifying the lessee must improve the property, usually public lands with construction) involving Giansante di Giansante from Valle San Giovanni.- On 1 May 1816, during the time of the reform of the Borbon leaders, Valle San Giovanni became a communal capital. Frazioni (municipalities) under the jurisdiction of Valle San Giovanni included Abatemozzo, Iscarelli (see also 1850's documents), Faieto, Casanova, Poggio Rattieri, Borgonovo, Magliano, Poggio Valle and Valle Piola.
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    The citizens of Valle San Giovanni, immediately following the 1868 decision to downgrade the town from an independent commune to a municipality of the comune of Montorio al Vomano, petitioned to have this statute overturned. Their pleas were denied.Secondary to the "Leggi ed Atti del Regno d'Italia" (Laws and Acts of the Kingdom of Italy) promologated in the year 1868 Valle San Giovanni on 6 December 1868 lost its communal status. It then became a frazione of Montorio al Vomano. This explains why, in the early 1900's many immigrants from Valle San Giovanni listed their home of record as Montorio al Vomano. In 1929 VSG became a frazione of the communal city of Teramo where it remains today. These events are important in that individuals searching for their ancestors' birth records born before 1929 will need to go to Montorio al Vomano to obtain birth, marriage and other related documents. According to the Istorica Descrizione del Regno di Napoli, VSG in 1795 had a popluation of 333. It was also noted as having "fresh air". According to a census published by the Regno delle Due Sicilie VSG in 1835 had a population of 681.  The Amminstrativa, G- In the book, Storia della città e Diocesi di Teramo, Vol III, by Niccola Palma, Valle San Giovanni is listed as having a population of 1306 in the year 1830.
- The Dizionario Topografico dei Comuni d'Italia, gives VSG in 1908 a population of 1460.
- The Ninth General Census of the Population lists VSG in 1951 as having 790 inhabitants.
- Valle San Giovanni is mentioned several times in Toponomastica Italiana (Ulrico Hoepli,1990). The book traces the origins and history of placenames attributed to certain areas. Located in and around Valle San Giovanni are: Pera Tosta (Latin=tostu, It=tosto "hard"); Valzi di Frunti (Latin=Balteum, It=balzo "mountain/hill"); Valle Cintrella (Latin=cinctum, It=cintura "belt"); Marcaccione (It=marca "border/zone of demarcation"); La Malanotte (Latin=malu, It=male "bad/evil" and notte "night"); Casa Monda (Latin=mundu "clean/free of vegetation").
In 1814 during the first years of the struggle for the unification of Italy (carbonarismo), a 24 year old soldier from Valle San Giovanni, Geremia Nicolina, was sentenced to death by the occupying Napoleanic rulers. He was shot by musket fire. The Archivio Botanico e Biogeografico Italiano, Volumes 42-43 (Università di Modena, Istituto Botanico, 1966) tells us that near VSG there lives the parasitic plant Loranthus Europaeus, a member of the mistletoe family. Most houses in Valle San Giovanni didn't have indoor plumbing until the late 1950's or early 1960's. Construction of the first bathrooms posed a problem as the houses tended to be small and lacked drainage pipes. One common yet innovative way of adding a bathroom involved connecting an attached room to the house, preferrably one that could be placed in an overhanging position. Look closely and your will see a large drainage pipe hanging straight down from the bathroom:  (click to enlarge) A local historical source states: "In epoca romana nelle immediate vicinanze dell'attuale Valle San Giovanni passava l'Interamnium Vorsus, il tratto cioè della via Cecilia che, proveniente da Amiternum, all'altezza dell'attuale Montorio deviava verso Interamnia e Castrum Novum, raggiungeva Travazzano, Santa Maria di Ponte a Porto e raggiungeva il mare seguendo il corso del fiume Tordino. Proprio a Valle infatti, in località "Cavonetto", nel 1993 fu rinvenuto il Cippo miliario "CXIIII" insieme a un tratto dell'antica strada. ....(e' possibile) camminare a Valle sull'antico percorso dei ROMANI" TRANSLATION: In the times of the empire a Roman road originated in Amiternum near L'Aquila, crossed a pass near the Gran Sasso, and arrived at Montorio al Vomano where it changed course towards Valle San Giovanni along what is now known as Via Cecilia. From here the road arrived at Travazzano, crossed a small bridge where now stands an ancient church known as Santa Maria di Ponte a Porto, and snaked along the Tordino River in the direction of Teramo and the Adriatic Sea. In 1933 a milestone with the inscription " CXIIII" was discovered in Valle San Giovanni in a location known as "Cavonetto". With some effort it is still possible to follow in the path of this Roman antiquity. More information about this find is available on this website as well as an article Scoperto a Valle San Giovanni un miliario della "Via del Batino" by Giammario Sgattoni, in the book Notizie dell'Economia, Teramo, nn. 3-4, anno 1993, pp. 60-66). The book, L'ultima Dimora: 25 anni di annunci funebri sul Corriere Abruzzese (1876-1899), 2008, by Federico Adamoli lists an obituary of Ciccone Carmine from Valle San Giovanni who passed away 26 November, 1894: Un male terribile, indomabile ha rapito all'affetto dei suoi il 22 corrente in Valle S. Giovanni Carmine Ciccone; lunga e penosa è stata la sua malattia. Egli toccava appena 55 anni, era ancor vegeto ed avea nel volto una bellezza senile che inspirava bontà e fiducia, e buono e pio era il povero Carmine Ciccone. La sua dipartita è stata quindi un dolore sinceramente sentito da quanti lo conoscevano. Giuseppe Iezzi and Giorgio Morelli in the book Cronaca Teramana dei Banditi, 1661-1683 (Deputazione Abruzzese di Storia Patria, 1983; in Italian) mention Valle San Giovanni several times in their accounts of how the Spanish and Napoleanic forces fought to conquer and defeat the many bandits and brigands who terrorized Abruzzo in the mid 17th century. Two of the most famous outlaws were Titta Colarieri and Santuccio. Giovanni Di Marco, Lucio Di Blasio and Sabatino Fratini in the book Paesi Abbandonati present information and photos regarding the remains of the abbey San Giovanni in Pergulis located on the outskirts of Valle San Giovanni, the “Fonte Vecchia” where the Roman milestone marker was discovered, the village of Valle Soprana, the church door of Madonna di Ponte a Porto located in Travezzano, and the now-abandoned village of Frunti (about 1 km due west of Valle San Giovanni). The historical communal archives located in Montorio al Vomano mention a number of landholding trusts, wills, and so on, related to Valle San Giovanni. Some date back as far as the 1500's. In 2006 Montorio al Vomano completed an extensive inventory, Archivo Storico Comunale - Inventario, of their records dating from teh years 1573 to 1966. Contained in this publication as well are a good number of documents that directly relate to Valle San Giovanni. (in Italian)
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