Santa Maria Maggiore is the older of Vasto's two main churches — a Romanesque foundation rebuilt in the 14th and again in the 17th century, with a fine carved doorway and a vivid Baroque interior. The campanile, rising 65 metres above the centro storico, is the tallest in southern Abruzzo and the most visible landmark from the marina.
The church holds the Sacra Spina, a thorn said to be from the Crown of Thorns and brought to Vasto from Constantinople in 1268; it is exhibited only on Good Friday.