Roccaraso | |
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| Comune di Roccaraso | |
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Location of Roccaraso  | |
  Roccaraso Location of Roccaraso in Italy Show map of Italy Roccaraso Roccaraso (Abruzzo) Show map of Abruzzo | |
| Coordinates:41°51′4″N14°4′45″E / 41.85111°N 14.07917°E /41.85111; 14.07917 | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Abruzzo |
| Province | L'Aquila (AQ) |
| Frazioni | Aremogna,Pietransieri, Soggiorno Montano Enel |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Francesco Di Donato |
| Area | |
• Total | 19.91 km2 (7.69 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,236 m (4,055 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2021)[2] | |
• Total | 1,524 |
| • Density | 77/km2 (200/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Roccolani |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 67037 |
| Dialing code | 0864 |
| Patron saint | Sant'Ippolito (Hippolytus of Rome) |
| Saint day | 13 August |
| Website | Official website |
Roccaraso is atown andcomune in southernItaly, in theprovince of L'Aquila in theAbruzzo region.
The town of Roccaraso dates back to around 975 AD, and is located near the Rasinus stream, from which some believe it took its original name, Rocca Rasini. It developed as a farming village, inhabited by herdsmen and craftsmen, which guaranteed its people a peaceful and prosperous life. During the late 19th century, the opening of the rail link withNaples begins to bring the first tourists, attracted by the beauty of the natural environment, who were soon welcomed by various hotels that at that time were beginning to rise.[3]
A sharp setback came with theSecond World War. Roccaraso was located right on the head of theGustav line, the system of fortifications with which theGermans tried to stop the advance of theAllies after thelanding atSalerno in September 1943. The town was completely destroyed by a bombing, which caused the loss of 'Interalia', a theater built in 1698, one of the oldest in Italy. The roccolani did not lose heart; after the end of the war the town returned to everyday life and soon became one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.[3]
Roccaraso'sfrazione ofPietransieri is among the villages decorated for Valor for the War of Liberation that has been awarded theGold Medal of Military Valour for the sacrifices of its people (which culminated in the Limmari Massacre) and its activities in thepartisan struggle during the Second World War.[4]
Between January 25 and 26, 2025, the town was at the center of the controversy regarding overtourism, mainly caused by Neapolitans. The wave of tourists was partly driven by videos from Neapolitan influencer Rita De Crescenzo, in which she talked about the location. The large number of Neapolitan tourists and their uncivil behavior damaged the area so much that the media reported the news as the "Neapolitan invasion," and the mayor of Roccaraso described the events as "a real assault".[5]
The ski resort of Roccaraso is structured around the Mountains of Roccaraso, subgroup of Mont Greek (2,283 m (7,490 ft)), the Piano Aremogna and Pizzalto, connected directly to the plants of Rivisondoli-Monte Pratello (2,012 m (6,600 ft)), the heart of the largest ski area in central and southern Italy, the area of Alto Sangro, including around 160 km (100 mi) of downhill slopes and 36 lifts.
The first ski race was held in 1910 and the first ski lift was the 'Slittovia' in Monte Zurrone, built in 1936. Numerous competitions, both national and international, are held every year. In March 2005, Roccaraso hosted the men's and women's finals of the European Cup, and theWorld Junior Championships in 2012. The participants, representing dozens of countries from all five continents, contended areas laurels of victory. But only eleven teams were able to savour the joy of the podium. In particular, Norway has dominated the race winning 4 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze. Italy settled for a silver medal obtained in the team event, the parallel team played on the Gran track Pizzalto, where blue colors were represented by Alex Zingerle, Giordano Ronci, and Pichler.
During the 1950s and 1960s US servicemen and their families enjoyed the recreation facilities especially riding "saucers"; like riding on a metal trash can lid.
Because of global warming the amount of falling snow diminishes year by year. Artificial snow is a costly and environmental unfriendly solution. During January 2024 only some 20% of the pistes were open to public, which had a huge impact on the local economy.[6]
| Climate data for Roccaraso, elevation 1,245 m (4,085 ft), (1951–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.3 (64.9) | 19.8 (67.6) | 22.0 (71.6) | 27.5 (81.5) | 31.2 (88.2) | 34.0 (93.2) | 34.3 (93.7) | 30.2 (86.4) | 27.0 (80.6) | 19.9 (67.8) | 20.0 (68.0) | 34.3 (93.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.7 (38.7) | 4.9 (40.8) | 7.7 (45.9) | 10.7 (51.3) | 15.6 (60.1) | 19.6 (67.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 23.2 (73.8) | 18.8 (65.8) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.0 (48.2) | 4.4 (39.9) | 12.9 (55.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) | 0.5 (32.9) | 3.1 (37.6) | 5.9 (42.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 13.7 (56.7) | 16.3 (61.3) | 16.5 (61.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.9 (48.0) | 4.7 (40.5) | 0.7 (33.3) | 7.8 (46.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) | −3.9 (25.0) | −1.5 (29.3) | 1.2 (34.2) | 4.8 (40.6) | 7.7 (45.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 9.7 (49.5) | 7.3 (45.1) | 3.7 (38.7) | 0.3 (32.5) | −3.1 (26.4) | 2.6 (36.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −21.5 (−6.7) | −22.3 (−8.1) | −12.0 (10.4) | −5.9 (21.4) | −2.6 (27.3) | −2.2 (28.0) | −0.6 (30.9) | −3.0 (26.6) | −8.9 (16.0) | −16.6 (2.1) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −22.3 (−8.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 106.1 (4.18) | 91.0 (3.58) | 81.1 (3.19) | 84.0 (3.31) | 68.7 (2.70) | 51.0 (2.01) | 46.4 (1.83) | 42.8 (1.69) | 71.3 (2.81) | 95.0 (3.74) | 139.4 (5.49) | 133.4 (5.25) | 1,010.2 (39.78) |
| Average precipitation days | 9.6 | 9.2 | 10.2 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 10.8 | 11.0 | 105.2 |
| Source: Regione Abruzzo[7] | |||||||||||||
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Media related toRoccaraso at Wikimedia Commons
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