HADRIA [mod. Atri (q.v.)], an ancient town of Picenum, belonging to the Praetuttii. It became a colony of Rome in 290 B.C. and remained faithful to Rome. The family of Hadrian came from here. The crypt of the cathedral of the modern town was originally a large Roman cistern ; another forms the foundation of the ducal palace; and in the eastern portion of the town there is a complicated system of underground passages for collecting and storing water.