L'Aquila sits on a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley; the tall snow-capped mountains of the Gran Sasso massif flank the town. A maze of narrow streets, lined with Baroque and Renaissance buildings and churches, open onto elegant piazzas. Home to theUniversity of L'Aquila, it is a livelycollege town and, as such, has many cultural institutions: arepertory theatre, a symphony orchestra, a fine art academy, a state conservatory and a film institute. There are severalski resorts in the surrounding province (Campo Imperatore,Ovindoli,Pescasseroli,Roccaraso,Scanno).
The city's construction was begun byFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King ofSicily, out of several already existing villages (ninety-nine, according to local tradition; seeAmiternum), as a bulwark against the power of the papacy. The name of Aquila means "Eagle" in Italian. Construction was completed in 1254 under Frederick's son,Conrad IV of Germany. The name was switched to Aquila degli Abruzzi in 1861, and L'Aquila in 1939. After the death of Conrad, the city was destroyed by his brotherManfred in 1259, but soon rebuilt byCharles I of Anjou, his successor as king of Sicily. The walls were completed in 1316.[6]
It quickly became the second city of theKingdom of Naples. It was an autonomous city, ruled by adiarchy composed of the City Council (which had varying names and composition over the centuries) and the King's Captain. It fell initially under the lordship of Niccolò dell'Isola, appointed by the people as the People's Knight, but he was then killed when he became a tyrant. Later, it fell under Pietro "Lalle" Camponeschi, Count of Montorio, who became the third side of a new triarchy, with the Council and the King's Captain. Camponeschi, who was also Great Chancellor of the kingdom of Naples, became too powerful, and was killed by order of PrinceLouis ofTaranto. His descendants fought with the Pretatti family for power for several generations, but never again attained the power of their ancestor. The last, and the one true "lord" of L'Aquila, was Ludovico Franchi, who challenged the power of the pope by giving refuge toAlfonso I d'Este, former duke ofFerrara, and the children ofGiampaolo Baglioni, deposed lord ofPerugia. In the end, however, the Aquilans had him deposed and imprisoned by theking of Naples.
Fountain of the 99 Spouts.
The power of L'Aquila was based on the close connection between the city and its mother-villages, which had established the city as a federation, each of them building a borough and considering it as a part of the mother-village. The Fountain of the 99 Spouts (Fontana delle 99 Cannelle), was given its name to celebrate the ancient origin of the town. The City Council was originally composed of the Mayors of the villages, and the city had no legal existence until KingCharles II of Naples appointed a "Camerlengo", responsible for city tributes (previously paid separately by each of its mother-villages). Later, the Camerlengo also took political power, as President of the City Council.
From its beginnings the city constituted an important market for the surrounding countryside, which provided it with a regular supply of food: from the fertile valleys came the precious saffron; the surrounding mountain pastures provided summer grazing for numeroustranshumant flocks of sheep, which in turn supplied abundant raw materials for export and, to a lesser extent, small local industries, which in time brought craftsmen and merchants from outside the area.
Within a few decades L'Aquila became a crossroads in communications between cities within and beyond the Kingdom, thanks to the so-called "via degli Abruzzi", which ran fromFlorence to Naples by way ofPerugia, Rieti, L'Aquila, Sulmona, Isernia, Venafro, Teano andCapua.
Negotiations for the succession of Edmund, son ofHenry III of England, to the throne of theKingdom of Sicily involved L'Aquila in the web of interests linking theRoman Curia to theEnglish court. On 23 December 1256Pope Alexander IV elevated the churches of Saints Massimo and Giorgio to the status of cathedrals as a reward to the citizens of L'Aquila for their opposition to King Manfred who, in July 1259, had the city razed to the ground in an attempt to destroy the negotiations. On 29 August 1294 thehermit Pietro del Morrone was consecrated aspope Celestine V in the church ofSanta Maria di Collemaggio, in commemoration of which the new pope decreed the annual religious rite of the Pardon (nowadays known asCelestinian Forgiveness,Perdonanza Celestiniana), still observed today in the city on 28 and 29 August: it is the immediate ancestor of theJubilee Year.
The pontificate of Celestine V gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, KingRobert of Anjou granted privileges which had a decisive influence on the development of trade. These privileges protected all activities related to sheep-farming, exempting them from customs duties on imports and exports. This was the period in which merchants fromTuscany (Scale, Bonaccorsi) and Rieti purchased houses in the city. Hence the conditions for radical political renewal: in 1355 the trade guilds of leather-workers, metal-workers, merchants and learned men were brought into the government of the city, and these together with the Camerario and the Cinque constituted the new Camera Aquilana. Eleven years earlier, in 1344, the King had granted the city its own mint.
In the middle of the 14th century the city was struck by plague epidemics (1348, 1363) and earthquakes (1349). Reconstruction began soon, however. In the 14th–15th century Jewish families came to live in the city, while the generals of theFranciscan Order chose the city as the seat of the Order's general chapters (1376, 1408, 1411, 1450, 1452, 1495).Bernardino of Siena, of theFranciscan order of the Observance, visited L'Aquila twice, the first time to preach in the presence of KingRené of Naples, and in 1444, on his second visit, he died in the city. In 1481Adam of Rottweil, a pupil and collaborator ofJohann Gutenberg, obtained permission to establish aprinting press in L'Aquila.
The Osservanti branch of the Franciscan order had a decisive influence on L'Aquila. As a result of initiatives by FriarGiovanni da Capistrano and Friar Giacomo della Marca, Lombard masters undertook, in the relatively underdeveloped north-east of the city, an imposing series of buildings centring on the hospital of Saint Salvatore (1446) and the convent and theBasilica of San Bernardino. Theconstruction work was long and difficult, mainly because of the earthquake of 1461, which caused the buildings to collapse, and the translation of the body of San Bernardino did not take place until 14 May 1472. The whole city suffered serious damage on the occasion of the earthquake, and two years went by before repairs on the churches and convents began.
In a strategy finalised to increasing their political and economic autonomy, the Aquilani took a series of political gambles, siding sometimes with the RomanPapacy, sometimes with the Kingdom of Naples. When the Pope excommunicatedJoanna II, Queen of Naples, appointingLouis III of Anjou as heir to the crown in her stead, L'Aquila sided with the Angevines. Joanna hired thecondottieroBraccio da Montone. In exchange for his services, Braccio obtained the lordship of Teramo, as well as thefiefdoms of Capua and Foggia: he started a13-month-long siege of L'Aquila, that resisted bravely. Facing Braccio, at the head of the Angevin army wasMuzio Attendolo Sforza and his sonFrancesco. The final clash between the two contenders was just below the walls of Aquila, near the hamlet today called Bazzano. In the battle fought on 2 June 1424, Braccio, mortally wounded in the neck, was made prisoner and transported to Aquila, where he died three days later, on 5 June 1424. The Pope had him buried in deconsecrated earth. The citizens of L'Aquila honoured the bravery of their enemy Braccio by dedicating one of the main streets of the city to his name.
This period of freedom and prosperity ended in the 16th century, when Spanish viceroyPhilibert van Oranje partially destroyed L'Aquila and established Spanishfeudalism in its countryside. The city, separated from its roots, never developed again. Ancient privileges were revoked. L'Aquila was again destroyed by anearthquake in 1703. Successive earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the city's largecathedral, and destroyed the original dome of theBasilica of San Bernardino, designed along the lines of the dome ofSanta Maria del Fiore in Florence. The city was also sacked two times byFrench troops in 1799.
L'Aquila, like so much of Italy, is a city of political contrasts. In the 1970s a novel byAlberto Moravia was seized because it was considered obscene, a local Catholic Archbishop protested the nudity of a centuries-old statue of a young man, and a group of local reactionaries even asked for the seizure of the £50 coin because it showed a naked man. In October 2003, however, a liberal judge in l'Aquila ordered the small town ofOfena to remove a crucifix from its elementary school so as not to offend the religious sensibilities of two youngMuslim students. After a national outcry, the judge's decision was overturned. In May 2007Massimo Cialente, a physician and medical researcher, waselected mayor of L'Aquila with acentre-left coalition.
The localprefecture (a government office) damaged by the earthquake.Leaders pose for a group photo on the first day of the G8 Summit.
Earthquakes mark the history of L'Aquila, as the city is partly built on an ancient lake-bed which amplifies seismic activity.[7][8]
On 3 December 1315 the city was struck by an earthquake which seriously damaged theSan Francesco Church. Another earthquake struck on9 September 1349,[9] killing about 800 people. Other earthquakes struck in 1452, then on26 November 1461, and again in 1501 and 1646. On 3 February 1703 amajor earthquake struck the town. More than 3,000 people died and almost all the churches collapsed;Rocca Calascio, the highest fortress in Europe was also ruined by this event, yet the town survived. L'Aquila was then repopulated by decision ofPope Clement XI. The town was rocked by earthquakeagain in 1706. On 26 June 1958 an earthquake of 5.0magnitude struck the town.
On 6 April 2009, at 01:32 GMT (03:32 CEST) anearthquake of 6.3magnitude struck central Italy with its epicentre near L'Aquila, at42°25′22″N13°23′40″E / 42.4228°N 13.3945°E /42.4228; 13.3945 (Earthquake April 6, 2009).[10] Initial reports said the earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings in L'Aquila.[11] Several buildings also collapsed. 308 people were killed by the earthquake, and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Twenty of the victims were children.[12] Around 65,000 people were made homeless.[13] There were many students trapped in a partially collapsed dormitory.[14] The 6 April earthquake was felt throughoutAbruzzo; as far away as Rome, other parts ofLazio, Marche,Molise,Umbria, andCampania.
Because of the 2009 earthquake, theBerlusconi government decided to move that year'sG8 summit from its scheduled Sardinian host ofLa Maddalena to L'Aquila, so that disaster funds would be distributed to the affected region and to show solidarity with the city's inhabitants.[15] World leaders converged on L'Aquila on 8 July and many of them were given tours of the devastated city by the host Prime Minister.[16]
Close to the highest of theApenninesummits, L'Aquila, with an elevation of 721 metres (2,365 ft), is situated in the valley of theAterno-Pescara, between four mountain peaks above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).
The mountains block the city off from the warm humid air currents of theMediterranean, giving rise to a climate that is dry and cooler than most ofcentral Italy. It's a common saying among locals that the city enjoys 11 cold months a year and one cool one ("Undici misi de friddu e unu de friscu").
L'Aquila is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) east-northeast of Rome, with which it is connected by anautostrada through the mountains.
The following is a list of thefrazioni in thecomune of L'Aquila: Aquilio,Aragno,Arischia,Assergi,Bagno, Bazzano,Camarda, Cansatessa, Casaline, Cermone, Cese diPreturo, Civita di Bagno, Colle di Preturo, Colle di Sassa, Colle Roio – Poggio di Roio, Collebrincioni, Collefracido di Sassa, Collemare di Sassa, Coppito, Filetto, Foce di Sassa, Forcelle, Genzano di Sassa, Gignano,Monticchio,Onna,Paganica, Pagliare di Sassa, Pescomaggiore, Pettino,Pianola, Pile, Pizzutillo, Poggio di Roio,Poggio Santa Maria, Pozza di Preturo, Pratelle,Preturo, Ripa,Roio Piano, San Giacomo Alto, San Giuliano,San Gregorio, San Leonardo, San Marco Di Preturo, San Martino di Sassa, Santa Rufina di Roio, Sant'Angelo,Sant'Elia, Santi,San Vittorino,Sassa, Tempera, Torretta, Vallesindola, Vasche.
Although less than an hour-and-a-half drive from Rome, and popular with Romans for summer hiking and winter skiing in surrounding mountains, the city is sparsely visited by tourists. Among the sights are:
L'Aquila Cathedral: main church dedicated to SaintMaximus of Aveia (San Massimo), was built in the 13th century, but razed after the 1703 earthquake. The most recent façade dated from the 19th century, but the earthquake of 2009 and subsequent aftershocks collapsed parts of thetransept and possibly more of the cathedral.
Basilica of San Bernardino (1472): church has a fineRenaissance façade byNicola Filotesio (commonly called Cola dell'Amatrice), and contains the monumental tomb of the saint (1480), decorated with sculptures, and executed by Silvestro Ariscola.[6]
Santa Maria di Collemaggio: church just outside the town, has a very fine, but simple, Romanesque façade (1270–1280) in red and white marble, with three decorated portals and a rose-window above each. The two side doors are also fine. The interior contains the mausoleum ofPope Celestine V erected in 1517.[6]
Santa Giusta: Romanesque façade with Gothic rose window
San Silvestro: 14th-century Romanesque façade with Gothic rose window
Fontana Luminosa ("Luminous Fountain"): a 1930s sculpture of two women bearing large jars.
Fontana delle novantanove cannelle (1272): a fountain with ninety-nine jets distributed along three walls. The source of the fountain is still unknown.
L'Aquila cemetery: includes grave ofKarl Heinrich Ulrichs, 19th‑century Germangay rights pioneer who lived in L'Aquila; every year,gay people from all over the world meet at the cemetery to honour his memory.[20]
Roman ruins ofAmiternum: ruins of an Ancient Roman city
Also nearby are severalski resorts likeGran Sasso d'Italia, the highest of theApennines where in its valley the movieThe Name of the Rose was filmed in the end of the 1980s. The town also contains some fine palaces: the municipality has a museum, with a collection of Roman inscriptions and some illuminated service books. The Palazzi Dragonetti and Persichetti contain private collections of pictures.[6]
The first step of L'Aquila in thecinematographic activities was the Cineforum Primo Piano founded by Gabriele Lucci in the middle of the 1970s. As a work of Lucci, in 1981 saw the establishment of l'Istituto Cinematografico dell'Aquila, an institute for the production and diffusion of the cinematographic culture in Italia and abroad.
As of November 2025 there is still no clear bus connection from the train station. It's an uphill 45 minute walk. There is no regular bus that departs from directly outside the train station and the city is not covered by Uber or other systems. There is no signage and no way to find a connection to the city from the train station.
