L'Aquila
Encyclopedia
L'Aquila (ˈlaːkwila, meaning "The Eagle") is a city and comune
in central Italy
, both the capital city of the Abruzzo
region and of the Province of L'Aquila
. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains
, with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east.
L'Aquila sits upon a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley; 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 the University of L'Aquila
, it is a lively college town
and, as such, has many cultural institutions: a repertory theater
, a symphony orchestra, a fine-arts academy, a state conservatory,a film institute.The city presents a tradition in the winter sports with 4 ski resorts which lies around the city.
summits, L’Aquila is positioned at an altitude of 721 meters in the Valley of the Aterno-Pescara, wedged between no fewer than four mountain peaks above 2,000 meters.
The mountains block the city off from warm humid air currents from the Mediterranean
, and give rise to a climate that is cool in comparison to most of central Italy
, and dry. It has been said that the city enjoys each year eleven cold months and one cool one.
L’Aquila is approximately 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) to the east-north-east of Rome
, with which it is now connected by an autostrada
through the mountains.
and King of Sicily out of several already existing villages (ninety-nine, according to local tradition; see Amiternum
), 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 brother Manfred
in 1259, but soon rebuilt by Charles I of Anjou, its successor as king of Sicily. The walls were completed in 1316.
It quickly became the second city of the Kingdom of Naples
. It was an autonomous city, ruled by a diarchy
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 Prince Louis of Taranto. 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 to Alfonso I d'Este, former duke of Ferrara, and the children of Giampaolo Baglioni
, deposed lord of Perugia
. In the end, however, the Aquilans had him deposed and imprisoned by the king of Naples.
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. That is also why number 99 is so important in the architecture of L'Aquila, and a very peculiar monument, 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 King Charles 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 numerous transhumant
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 from Florence
to Naples by way of Perugia
, Rieti, L'Aquila, Sulmona, Isernia, Venafro, Teano and Capua
.
Negotiations for the succession of Edmund, son of Henry III of England
, to the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily
involved L'Aquila in the web of interests linking the Papal Curia
to the English court
. On 23 December 1256, Pope 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 August 29, 1294, the hermit
Pietro del Morrone was consecrated as pope Celestine V
in the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio
, in commemoration of which the new pope decreed the annual religious rite of the Pardon (Perdonanza Celestiniana), still observed today in the city on August 28 and 29: it is the immediate ancestor of the Jubilee Year
.
The pontificate of Celestine V gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, King Robert 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 from Tuscany
(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 Jew
ish families came to live in the city, while the generals of the Franciscan
Order chose the city as the seat of the Order's general chapters (1376, 1408, 1411, 1450, 1452, 1495). Bernardino of Siena
, of the Franciscan
order of the Observance, visited L'Aquila twice, the first time to preach in the presence of King René of Naples, and in 1444, on his second visit, he died in the city. In 1481 Adam of Rottweil
, a pupil and collaborator of Johann Gutenberg, obtained permission to establish a printing press
in L'Aquila.
The Osservanti branch of the Franciscan order had a decisive influence on L'Aquila. As a result of initiatives by Friar Giovanni 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 the basilica of Saint Bernardino. The construction 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 S. Bernardino did not take place until May 14, 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 finalized to increasing their political and economic autonomy, the Aquilani took a series of political gambles, siding sometimes with the Roman Papacy
, sometimes with the Kingdom of Naples. When the Pope
excommunicated Joanna II
, Queen of Naples, appointing Louis III of Anjou
as heir to the crown in her stead, L'Aquila sided with the Angevines. Joanna called to fight for her Braccio da Montone
, lord of Perugia
, Todi, Assisi, Spello and Jesi, one of the greatest Italian condottieri
of the time. In exchange for his services, Braccio obtained the lordship of Teramo, as well as the fiefdoms of Capua and Foggia, and he started a 13-year-long siege of L'Aquila, that resisted bravely. Facing Braccio at the head of the Angevine
army was Muzio Attendolo Sforza
and his son Francesco
. The final clash between the two contenders was just below the walls of Aquila, near the hamlet today called Bazzano. On 2 June 1424 the battle was fought between the most celebrated condottieri of the time; Braccio, mortally wounded in the neck, was made prisoner and transported to Aquila, where he died three days later, on June 5, 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
viceroy Philibert van Oranje
partially destroyed L'Aquila and established Spanish feudalism
in its countryside. The city, separated from its roots, never developed again. Ancient privileges were revoked. L'Aquila was again destroyed by an earthquake
in 1703. Successive earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the city's large Duomo
, and destroyed the original dome of the basilica of San Bernardino, designed along the lines of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
The city was also sacked two times by French troops
in 1799.
L'Aquila, like so much of Italy, is a city of political contrasts. In the 1970s a novel by Alberto Moravia
was seized because considered obscene and 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. However, in October 2003 a liberal judge in l'Aquila ordered the small town of Ofena to remove a crucifix from its elementary school
so as to not to offend the religious sensibilities of two young Muslim students. After a national outcry, the judge's decision was overturned. In May 2007 Massimo Cialente, a physician and medical researcher, was elected mayor
of L'Aquila with a center-left
coalition.
Earthquakes mark the history of L'Aquila, as the city is situated partially on an ancient lake-bed that amplifies seismic activity.
On December 3, 1315, the city was struck by an earthquake which seriously damaged the San Francesco
Church. Another earthquake struck on January 22, 1349, killing about 800 people. Other earthquakes struck in 1452, then on November 26, 1461, and again in 1501 and 1646. On February 3, 1703 a major 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 of Pope Clement XI
. The town was rocked by earthquake again in 1706. The most serious earthquake in the history of the town struck on July 31, 1786, when more than 6.000 people died. On June 26, 1958 an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude
struck the town.
On April 6, 2009, at 01:32 GMT (03:32 CEST) an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude
struck central Italy with its epicentre near L'Aquila, at 42.4228°N 13.3945°W. The earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 11,000 buildings in the medieval
city of L'Aquila. Several buildings also collapsed. 308 people were killed by the earthquake, and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Twenty of the victims were children. Around 65,000 people were made homeless. There were many students trapped in a partially collapsed dormitory. The April 6 earthquake was felt throughout Abruzzo
; as far away as Rome
, other parts of Lazio, Marche
, Molise
, Umbria
, and Campania
.
government decided to move that year's G8 summit
from its scheduled Sardinian host of La Maddalena
to L'Aquila, so that disaster funds would be distributed to the affected region and to show solidarity with the city's inhabitants. World leaders converged on L'Aquila on July 8 and many of them were given tours of the devastated city by the host Prime Minister.
A Washington Post
newspaper article on April 11, 2010, reported that in February 2010, residents of L'Aquila, frustrated that cleanup efforts of the destroyed downtown had not begun after ten months of waiting, had organized daily volunteer crews to haul away rubble themselves. Many of these displaced residents have been re-housed in new housing on the fringe of town, and missed the vibrant life, shops and cafes downtown that were damaged and shuttered (reportedly some 2,000 businesses have closed).
, and a popular summer and winter resort with Romans hiking and skiing in the surrounding mountains, the city has not yet been heavily affected by foreign tourism.
In the highest part of the town is the massive Spanish fort (Forte Spagnolo)
, erected by the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo in 1534. It is currently home to the National Museum of Abruzzo.
The Cathedral of San Massimo (Duomo) was built in the 13th century, but crumbled down during the 1703 earthquake. The most recent façade is from the 19th century, but after the earthquake of 2009 and subsequent aftershock
s the transept
and possibly more of the Cathedral has collapsed.
The church of Saint Bernardino of Siena
(1472) has a fine Renaissance
façade by Nicolò Filotesio
(commonly called Cola dell'Amatrice), and contains the monumental tomb of the saint, decorated with beautiful sculptures, and executed by Silvestro Ariscola in 1480.
The church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio
, just outside the town, has a very fine Romanesque façade of simple design (1270–1280) in red and white marble, with three finely decorated portals and a rose-window above each. The two side doors are also fine. The interior contains the mausoleum of Pope Celestine V
erected in 1517. Many smaller churches in the town have similar façades (S. Giusta, S. Silvestro and others).
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. Outside the town is the Fontana delle novantanove cannelle, a fountain with ninety-nine jets distributed along three walls, constructed in 1272. The source of the fountain is still unknown.
A well-known city landmark is the Fontana Luminosa ("Luminous Fountain"), a sculpture of two women bearing large jars, built in the 1930s. The local cemetery includes the grave of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs
, a 19th‑century German gay rights pioneer, who lived and died at L'Aquila: every year, gay people
from all over the world meet at the cemetery to honour his memory.
The surrounding area boasts Roman ruins (the important Roman city of Amiternum
), ancient monasteries, and numerous castles. The best-known of these is Rocca Calascio
(used in the 1980s as the location for the movie Ladyhawke
), which is the highest castle in Italy and one of the highest in Europe. Also nearby are several ski resort
s like Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest of the Apennines
where in its valley the movie The Name of the Rose
was filmed in the end of the 1980s.
activities was the Cineforum Primo Piano founded by Gabriele Lucci in the middle of 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.
The Teatro Stabile d'Abruzzo
is based in the city and was formed in 2000.
. The football squad, L'Aquila Calcio
, played 3 times in serie B
.
, villages around principal towns, surrounding L'Aquila. The following is a list of surrounding frazioni: Aquilio, Aragno, Aringo, Arischia, Assergi, Bagno, Bazzano, Camarda, Cansatessa, Casaline, Cermone, Cese, Civita di Bagno, Colle di Preturo, Colle di Sassa, Colle Roio - Poggio di Roio, Collebrincioni, Collefracido, Coppito, Filetto, Foce, Forcelle, Genzano, Gignano, Monticchio, Onna, Paganica
, Pagliare di Sassa, Pescomaggiore, Palombaia, Pettino, Pianola, Pile, Pizzutillo, Poggio Roio, Poggio Santa Maria, Pozza di Preturo, Pratelle, Preturo, Ripa, Roio Piano - Poggio di Roio, San Giacomo alto, San Giuliano, San Gregorio
, San Leonardo, San Marco Di Preturo, San Martino di Sassa, Santa Rufina, Sant'Angelo, Sant'Elia, Santi, San Vittorino, Sassa, Tempera, Torretta, Valle Pretara, Vallesindola, Vasche.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, both the capital city of the Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
region and of the Province of L'Aquila
Province of L'Aquila
thumb|left|200px|Map of the province.The Province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region...
. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
, with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east.
L'Aquila sits upon a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley; 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 the University of L'Aquila
University of L'Aquila
The University of L'Aquila is a university located in L'Aquila, central Italy. It was founded in 1964 and is organized in nine faculties.Presents a scientific-technological character with many research groups. Its faculties occupy a high position between the Italian universities...
, it is a lively college town
College town
A college town or university town is a community which is dominated by its university population...
and, as such, has many cultural institutions: a repertory theater
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
, a symphony orchestra, a fine-arts academy, a state conservatory,a film institute.The city presents a tradition in the winter sports with 4 ski resorts which lies around the city.
Geography
Close to the highest of the ApennineApennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
summits, L’Aquila is positioned at an altitude of 721 meters in the Valley of the Aterno-Pescara, wedged between no fewer than four mountain peaks above 2,000 meters.
The mountains block the city off from warm humid air currents from the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, and give rise to a climate that is cool in comparison to most of central Italy
Central Italy
Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
, and dry. It has been said that the city enjoys each year eleven cold months and one cool one.
L’Aquila is approximately 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) to the east-north-east of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, with which it is now connected by an autostrada
Autostrada A24 (Italy)
The Autostrada A24, or Autostrada dei Parchi , is a motorway connecting Rome to the Adriatic Sea. Commencing at the Grande Raccordo Anulare , the A24 runs broadly north-east past L'Aquila and through a 10km tunnel under the Gran Sasso before reaching Teramo.First planned in 1973 to connect Lazio...
through the mountains.
History
The city's construction was begun by Frederick II, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
and King of Sicily out of several already existing villages (ninety-nine, according to local tradition; see Amiternum
Amiternum
Amiternum, a traditional cradle of the Sabines, is an ancient Sabine prefecture in the Abruzzo region of modern Italy at 9 km from L'Aquila. Amiternum was the birthplace of the historian Sallust .It was stormed by the Romans in 293 BC...
), 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
Conrad IV of Germany
Conrad IV was king of Jerusalem , of Germany , and of Sicily .-Biography:...
. 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 brother Manfred
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
in 1259, but soon rebuilt by Charles I of Anjou, its successor as king of Sicily. The walls were completed in 1316.
It quickly became the second city of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. It was an autonomous city, ruled by a diarchy
Diarchy
Diarchy , from the Greek δι- "twice" and αρχια, "rule", is a form of government in which two individuals, the diarchs, are the heads of state. In most diarchies, the diarchs hold their position for life and pass the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they...
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 Prince Louis of Taranto. 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 to Alfonso I d'Este, former duke of Ferrara, and the children of Giampaolo Baglioni
Gian Paolo Baglioni
Gian Paolo Baglioni was an Italian condottiero and lord of Perugia.He was the son of Rodolfo Baglioni and initially fought mostly in Umbria, especially against the family rivals, the Oddi. In 1498 he was hired by Florence to held minor operations in Umbria.In July 1500 he escaped an assassination...
, deposed lord of Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
. In the end, however, the Aquilans had him deposed and imprisoned by the king of Naples.
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. That is also why number 99 is so important in the architecture of L'Aquila, and a very peculiar monument, 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 King Charles II of Naples
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
appointed a "Camerlengo", responsible for city tributes (previously paid separately by each of its mother-villages). Later, the Camerlengo also took political power
Political power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
, 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 numerous transhumant
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
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 from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
to Naples by way of Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, Rieti, L'Aquila, Sulmona, Isernia, Venafro, Teano and Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
.
Negotiations for the succession of Edmund, son of Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, to the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
involved L'Aquila in the web of interests linking the Papal Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
to the English court
Courts of England and Wales
Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; they apply the law of England and Wales and are established under Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The United Kingdom does not have...
. On 23 December 1256, Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
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 August 29, 1294, the hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
Pietro del Morrone was consecrated as pope Celestine V
Pope Celestine V
Pope Saint Celestine V, born Pietro Angelerio , also known as Pietro da Morrone was elected pope in the year 1294, by the papal election of 1292–1294, the last non-conclave in the history of the Roman Catholic Church...
in the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio
Santa Maria di Collemaggio
S. Maria di Collemaggio is a large medieval church in L'Aquila, central Italy. It was the site of the original Papal Jubilee, a penitential observation devised by Pope Celestine V, who is buried here...
, in commemoration of which the new pope decreed the annual religious rite of the Pardon (Perdonanza Celestiniana), still observed today in the city on August 28 and 29: it is the immediate ancestor of the Jubilee Year
Jubilee (Christian)
The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Biblical Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly...
.
The pontificate of Celestine V gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, King Robert of Anjou
Robert of Naples
Robert of Anjou , known as Robert the Wise was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the third but eldest surviving son of King Charles II of Naples the Lame and Maria of Hungary...
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
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
on imports and exports. This was the period in which merchants from Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
(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 Jew
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish families came to live in the city, while the generals of the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Order chose the city as the seat of the Order's general chapters (1376, 1408, 1411, 1450, 1452, 1495). Bernardino of Siena
Bernardino of Siena
Saint Bernardino of Siena, O.F.M., was an Italian priest, Franciscan missionary, and is a Catholic saint.-Early life:...
, of the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
order of the Observance, visited L'Aquila twice, the first time to preach in the presence of King René of Naples, and in 1444, on his second visit, he died in the city. In 1481 Adam of Rottweil
Adam of Rottweil
Adam of Rottweil, - Germ. Adam von Rottweil - Ital. Adamo de Rodvila - . Fifteenth century scholar and printer. He was originally a pupil and collaborator of Johann Gutenberg. In 1477 Adam published in Venice one of the first German-Italian dictionaries...
, a pupil and collaborator of Johann Gutenberg, obtained permission to establish a printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
in L'Aquila.
The Osservanti branch of the Franciscan order had a decisive influence on L'Aquila. As a result of initiatives by Friar Giovanni 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 the basilica of Saint Bernardino. The construction work
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
was long and difficult, mainly because of the earthquake of 1461, which caused the buildings to collapse, and the translation of the body of S. Bernardino did not take place until May 14, 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 finalized to increasing their political and economic autonomy, the Aquilani took a series of political gambles, siding sometimes with the Roman Papacy
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, sometimes with the Kingdom of Naples. When the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
excommunicated Joanna II
Joan II of Naples
Joan II was Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death, upon which the senior Angevin line of Naples became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary....
, Queen of Naples, appointing Louis III of Anjou
Louis III of Naples
Louis III was titular King of Naples 1417–1426, Count of Provence, Forcalquier, Piedmont, and Maine and Duke of Anjou 1417–1434, and Duke of Calabria 1426–1434....
as heir to the crown in her stead, L'Aquila sided with the Angevines. Joanna called to fight for her Braccio da Montone
Braccio da Montone
frame|Braccio da Montone.Braccio da Montone , born Andrea Fortebracci, and also known as Braccio Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:...
, lord of Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, Todi, Assisi, Spello and Jesi, one of the greatest Italian condottieri
Condottieri
thumb|Depiction of [[Farinata degli Uberti]] by [[Andrea del Castagno]], showing a 15th century condottiero's typical attire.Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military free companies contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages...
of the time. In exchange for his services, Braccio obtained the lordship of Teramo, as well as the fiefdoms of Capua and Foggia, and he started a 13-year-long siege of L'Aquila, that resisted bravely. Facing Braccio at the head of the Angevine
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
army was Muzio Attendolo Sforza
Muzio Sforza
Muzio Attendolo Sforza was an Italian condottiero. Founder of the Sforza dynasty, he led a Bolognese-Florentine army at the Battle of Casalecchio.He was the father of Francesco Sforza, who ruled Milan for 16 years....
and his son Francesco
Francesco I Sforza
Francesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, Italy. He was the brother of Alessandro, with whom he often fought.-Early life:...
. The final clash between the two contenders was just below the walls of Aquila, near the hamlet today called Bazzano. On 2 June 1424 the battle was fought between the most celebrated condottieri of the time; Braccio, mortally wounded in the neck, was made prisoner and transported to Aquila, where he died three days later, on June 5, 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
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
viceroy Philibert van Oranje
Philibert of Châlon
Philibert de Châlon was the last prince of Orange from the house of Châlon.Born at Nozeroy to John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Philibert served Emperor Charles V as commander in Italy, fighting in the War of the League of Cognac. He took part in the Sack of Rome and was killed during the final stages of...
partially destroyed L'Aquila and established Spanish feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
in its countryside. The city, separated from its roots, never developed again. Ancient privileges were revoked. L'Aquila was again destroyed by an earthquake
1703 Apennine earthquakes
The 1703 Apennine earthquakes were a sequence of three earthquakes of magnitude ≥6 that occurred in the central Apennines of Italy, over a period of 19 days. The epicenters were near Norcia , Montereale and L'Aquila , showing a southwards progression over about 36 km...
in 1703. Successive earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the city's large Duomo
Duomo
Duomo is a term for a cathedral church. The formal word for a church that is presently a cathedral is cattedrale; a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral . Some, like the Duomo of Monza, have never been cathedrals, although old and important...
, and destroyed the original dome of the basilica of San Bernardino, designed along the lines of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
The city was also sacked two times by French troops
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
in 1799.
L'Aquila, like so much of Italy, is a city of political contrasts. In the 1970s a novel by Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
was seized because considered obscene and 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. However, in October 2003 a liberal judge in l'Aquila ordered the small town of Ofena to remove a crucifix from its elementary school
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
so as to not to offend the religious sensibilities of two young Muslim students. After a national outcry, the judge's decision was overturned. In May 2007 Massimo Cialente, a physician and medical researcher, was elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of L'Aquila with a center-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
coalition.
Earthquakes
On December 3, 1315, the city was struck by an earthquake which seriously damaged the San Francesco
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
Church. Another earthquake struck on January 22, 1349, killing about 800 people. Other earthquakes struck in 1452, then on November 26, 1461, and again in 1501 and 1646. On February 3, 1703 a major earthquake struck the town. More than 3.000 people died and almost all the churches collapsed; Rocca Calascio
Rocca Calascio
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress or rocca in the Province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy.At an elevation of 1460 metres, the Rocca of Calascio is the highest fortress in the Apennines...
, the highest fortress in Europe was also ruined by this event, yet the town survived. L'Aquila was then repopulated by decision of Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
. The town was rocked by earthquake again in 1706. The most serious earthquake in the history of the town struck on July 31, 1786, when more than 6.000 people died. On June 26, 1958 an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
struck the town.
On April 6, 2009, at 01:32 GMT (03:32 CEST) an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
struck central Italy with its epicentre near L'Aquila, at 42.4228°N 13.3945°W. The earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 11,000 buildings in the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
city of L'Aquila. Several buildings also collapsed. 308 people were killed by the earthquake, and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Twenty of the victims were children. Around 65,000 people were made homeless. There were many students trapped in a partially collapsed dormitory. The April 6 earthquake was felt throughout Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
; as far away as Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, other parts of Lazio, Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, Molise
Molise
Molise is a region of Southern Italy, the second smallest of the regions. It was formerly part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise and now a separate entity...
, Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
, and Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
.
G8 summit
Because of the 2009 earthquake, the BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
government decided to move that year's G8 summit
35th G8 summit
The 35th G8 summit took place in the city of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, on July 8–10, 2009. It was moved from the Sardinian seaside city of La Maddalena as part of an attempt to redistribute disaster funds after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake.....
from its scheduled Sardinian host of La Maddalena
La Maddalena
La Maddalena is a town and comune located on the island with the same name, in northern Sardinia, part of the province of Olbia-Tempio, Italy.-The town:...
to L'Aquila, so that disaster funds would be distributed to the affected region and to show solidarity with the city's inhabitants. World leaders converged on L'Aquila on July 8 and many of them were given tours of the devastated city by the host Prime Minister.
A Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
newspaper article on April 11, 2010, reported that in February 2010, residents of L'Aquila, frustrated that cleanup efforts of the destroyed downtown had not begun after ten months of waiting, had organized daily volunteer crews to haul away rubble themselves. Many of these displaced residents have been re-housed in new housing on the fringe of town, and missed the vibrant life, shops and cafes downtown that were damaged and shuttered (reportedly some 2,000 businesses have closed).
Climate
Main sights
Although less than an hour-and-a-half drive from RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and a popular summer and winter resort with Romans hiking and skiing in the surrounding mountains, the city has not yet been heavily affected by foreign tourism.
In the highest part of the town is the massive Spanish fort (Forte Spagnolo)
Forte Spagnolo
The Forte Spagnolo is a Renaissance castle in L'Aquila, central Italy.- History :...
, erected by the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo in 1534. It is currently home to the National Museum of Abruzzo.
The Cathedral of San Massimo (Duomo) was built in the 13th century, but crumbled down during the 1703 earthquake. The most recent façade is from the 19th century, but after the earthquake of 2009 and subsequent aftershock
Aftershock
An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock...
s the transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
and possibly more of the Cathedral has collapsed.
The church of Saint Bernardino of Siena
Bernardino of Siena
Saint Bernardino of Siena, O.F.M., was an Italian priest, Franciscan missionary, and is a Catholic saint.-Early life:...
(1472) has a fine Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
façade by Nicolò Filotesio
Nicola Filotesio
Nicola Filotesio was an Italian painter, architect and sculptor of the Renaissance period, active primarily in or near the town of Ascoli Piceno .A native of the town of Amatrice in the Papal State of Latium Nicola Filotesio (9 September 1480 [differing sources give 1489]—31 August 1547 [sources...
(commonly called Cola dell'Amatrice), and contains the monumental tomb of the saint, decorated with beautiful sculptures, and executed by Silvestro Ariscola in 1480.
The church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio
Santa Maria di Collemaggio
S. Maria di Collemaggio is a large medieval church in L'Aquila, central Italy. It was the site of the original Papal Jubilee, a penitential observation devised by Pope Celestine V, who is buried here...
, just outside the town, has a very fine Romanesque façade of simple design (1270–1280) in red and white marble, with three finely decorated portals and a rose-window above each. The two side doors are also fine. The interior contains the mausoleum of Pope Celestine V
Pope Celestine V
Pope Saint Celestine V, born Pietro Angelerio , also known as Pietro da Morrone was elected pope in the year 1294, by the papal election of 1292–1294, the last non-conclave in the history of the Roman Catholic Church...
erected in 1517. Many smaller churches in the town have similar façades (S. Giusta, S. Silvestro and others).
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. Outside the town is the Fontana delle novantanove cannelle, a fountain with ninety-nine jets distributed along three walls, constructed in 1272. The source of the fountain is still unknown.
A well-known city landmark is the Fontana Luminosa ("Luminous Fountain"), a sculpture of two women bearing large jars, built in the 1930s. The local cemetery includes the grave of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs
for the periodical directory, see Ulrich's Periodicals DirectoryKarl-Heinrich Ulrichs , is seen today as the pioneer of the modern gay rights movement.-Early life:...
, a 19th‑century German gay rights pioneer, who lived and died at L'Aquila: every year, gay people
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
from all over the world meet at the cemetery to honour his memory.
The surrounding area boasts Roman ruins (the important Roman city of Amiternum
Amiternum
Amiternum, a traditional cradle of the Sabines, is an ancient Sabine prefecture in the Abruzzo region of modern Italy at 9 km from L'Aquila. Amiternum was the birthplace of the historian Sallust .It was stormed by the Romans in 293 BC...
), ancient monasteries, and numerous castles. The best-known of these is Rocca Calascio
Rocca Calascio
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress or rocca in the Province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy.At an elevation of 1460 metres, the Rocca of Calascio is the highest fortress in the Apennines...
(used in the 1980s as the location for the movie Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke is a 1985 fantasy film directed by Richard Donner, starring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. The film marked the second 20th Century Fox film to be co-produced and co-released by Warner Bros.. The first was The Towering Inferno; this time Warner got the U.S...
), which is the highest castle in Italy and one of the highest in Europe. Also nearby are several ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
s like Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest of the Apennines
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
where in its valley the movie The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose (film)
The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval...
was filmed in the end of the 1980s.
Cinematographic activities
The first step of L'Aquila in the cinematographicCinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
activities was the Cineforum Primo Piano founded by Gabriele Lucci in the middle of 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.
The Teatro Stabile d'Abruzzo
Teatro Stabile d'Abruzzo
Teatro Stabile d'Abruzzo is a theatre based in L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy which was formed in 2000.Directed by Alessandro Gassman today, the theatre has performed at many major Italian festivals, including the Venice Biennale, the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, the Festival del Teatro di San...
is based in the city and was formed in 2000.
Sport
The city is the home of five-time Italian champions L'Aquila RugbyL'Aquila Rugby
L'Aquila Rugby 1936 are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Super 10.The club is based in L'Aquila which is the capital of Abruzzo.The official colours of the club are black and green, the colours of the city of L'Aquila.-History:...
. The football squad, L'Aquila Calcio
A.S.D. L'Aquila Calcio 1927
L'Aquila Calcio 1927 is an Italian association football club located in L'Aquila, Abruzzo.They are currently playing the 2010–11 season in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione B being promoted from the Serie D/F in the 2009–10 season...
, played 3 times in serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
.
Frazioni
There are some frazioniFrazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
, villages around principal towns, surrounding L'Aquila. The following is a list of surrounding frazioni: Aquilio, Aragno, Aringo, Arischia, Assergi, Bagno, Bazzano, Camarda, Cansatessa, Casaline, Cermone, Cese, Civita di Bagno, Colle di Preturo, Colle di Sassa, Colle Roio - Poggio di Roio, Collebrincioni, Collefracido, Coppito, Filetto, Foce, Forcelle, Genzano, Gignano, Monticchio, Onna, Paganica
Paganica
Paganica is a hillside town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of L'Aquila , and has a population of about 7,000.-History:...
, Pagliare di Sassa, Pescomaggiore, Palombaia, Pettino, Pianola, Pile, Pizzutillo, Poggio Roio, Poggio Santa Maria, Pozza di Preturo, Pratelle, Preturo, Ripa, Roio Piano - Poggio di Roio, San Giacomo alto, San Giuliano, San Gregorio
San Gregorio (L'Aquila)
San Gregorio is a village in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of L'Aquila. It sits 584 meters above sea level at the base of Monte Manicola. The village of San Gregorio is 12.11 kilometers from the town of L `Aquila, of which it is considered a suburb community...
, San Leonardo, San Marco Di Preturo, San Martino di Sassa, Santa Rufina, Sant'Angelo, Sant'Elia, Santi, San Vittorino, Sassa, Tempera, Torretta, Valle Pretara, Vallesindola, Vasche.
Twin towns — Sister cities
L'Aquila is twinned with:| Rottweil Rottweil Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Cuenca Cuenca, Spain -History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... York York, Ontario York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... Hobart Hobart Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
Zielona Góra Zielona Góra Zielona Góra is a city in Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland, with 117,557 inhabitants within the city limits and 294,000 inhabitants within the metropolitan area, including three neighbouring counties .... , Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... , since 1996 Bernalda Bernalda Bernalda is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The frazione of Metaponto is the site of the ancient city of Metapontum.Until the 15th century, it was called Camarda... , Italy Bistriţa Bistrita Bistrița is the capital city of Bistriţa-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistriţa River. The city has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants, and it administers six villages: Ghinda, Sărata, Sigmir, Slătiniţa, Unirea and Viişoara.-History:The earliest sign of... , Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... Baalbeck Baalbek Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire... , Lebanon Lebanon Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among... |
Notable residents
- Mariangelo Accursio, (Aquila, 1489 - Aquila, 1546), Humanist
- Amico Agnifili, (Rocca di MezzoRocca di MezzoRocca di Mezzo is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy....
, 1398 - Aquila, 1476), Cardinal - Anton Ludovico Antinori, (Aquila, 1704 - Aquila, 1778), historian
- Corrado Bafile (1903–2005), Cardinal
- Giulio Cesare Benedetti Guelfaglione, (Aquila, ? - RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 1656), Physician - Bernardino da Siena, (Massa MarittimaMassa MarittimaMassa Marittima is a town and comune of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills...
, 1380 – Aquila, 1444), saint. - Braccio da MontoneBraccio da Montoneframe|Braccio da Montone.Braccio da Montone , born Andrea Fortebracci, and also known as Braccio Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:...
, (PerugiaPerugiaPerugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, 1368 - Aquila, 1424), condottiero - Giovanbattista Branconio dell'AquilaGiovanbattista Branconio dell'AquilaGiovanbattista Branconio dell'Aquila was a papal protonotary and chamberlain, as well as a friend of the artist Raphael...
, (Aquila, 1473 - 1522), papal protonotary, friend of RaphaelRaphaelRaffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur... - Buccio di Ranallo, (Aquila 1294 - Aquila 1363), epic poet.
- Raffaele CappelliRaffaele CappelliRaffaele Cappelli was an Italian politician and diplomat....
(1848–1921) - John of Capistrano, (CapestranoCapestranoCapestrano is a comune and small town with 965 inhabitants , in the Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the natural park known as the "Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park".-Antiquity:...
, 1386 - IlokIlokIlok is the easternmost town and municipality in Croatia. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Vojvodina region of Serbia. The population of the town of Ilok is 5,036, while the total municipality population is 6,750...
, 1456), saint - Cesare Campana, (Aquila, 1532 - VicenzaVicenzaVicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
, 1606), Historian and Poet - Celestine V, (?, 1215 - FumoneFumoneFumone is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region of Lazio, located about 70 km southeast of Rome and about 12 km northwest of Frosinone.-Main sights:...
, 1296), saint - Pompeo CesuraPompeo CesuraPompeo Cesura, also known as Pompeo Dall'Aquila, is stated in the 'Abecedario Pittorico' of Orlandi, to have been a good historical painter, both in oil and in fresco. He flourished in the latter part of the 16th century...
, (Aquila, ? - RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 1571), painter - Filipe Lorenzo Cianfarani (Phil Farren) 1874-1952, bandmaster Indiana
- Appius Claudius CaecusAppius Claudius CaecusAppius Claudius Caecus was a Roman politician from a wealthy patrician family. He was dictator himself and the son of Gaius Claudius Crassus, dictator in 337 BC.-Life:...
, (AmiternumAmiternumAmiternum, a traditional cradle of the Sabines, is an ancient Sabine prefecture in the Abruzzo region of modern Italy at 9 km from L'Aquila. Amiternum was the birthplace of the historian Sallust .It was stormed by the Romans in 293 BC...
, 350 a.C. - ?, 271 a.C.), Roman Politician - Nazzareno De AngelisNazzareno De AngelisNazzareno De Angelis was an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with Verdi, Rossini and Wagner roles.-Career:...
(1881–1962), opera singer - Serafino De' Ciminelli, (Aquila, 1466 - RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 1500), poet - Carlo FranchiGimax"Gimax" was the racing pseudonym of Carlo Franchi , a racing driver from Milan, Italy. He entered one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix with Surtees but failed to qualify...
(1698–1769), racing driver - Mario MagnottaMario MagnottaMario Magnotta was an Italian janitor of a commercial school in L'Aquila.He became an idol in Italy after several prank calls by some former students of the institute were circulated on the Internet.-Biography:...
(1942–2009), janitor and internet phenomena - Lorenzo Natali, (Florence,1922 – Rome,1989), vice-president of the European CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. - Paul PicconePaul PicconePaul Piccone was the founder and long-time editor of the journal TELOS.He was born in L'Aquila in Italy to a family that emigrated to Rochester, New York in the mid-1950s. In 1968 he and others started the journal TELOS, which he edited until his death in 2004.He completed a doctorate in...
(1940–2004), founder and editor of TELOS. - Cesare Rivera, (Aquila, 1539 - Napoli, 1602), humanist
- Roberto RuscittiRoberto RuscittiRoberto Ruscitti , is an Italian composer, soloist and pianist, Nationally and internationally recognized for his compositions, and interpretation of Venezuelan folk music...
(b. 1941), composer - SallustiusSallustiusSallustius or Sallust was a 4th-century Latin writer, a friend of the Roman Emperor Julian. He wrote the treatise On the Gods and the Cosmos, a kind of catechism of 4th-century Hellenic paganism. Sallustius' work owes much to that of Iamblichus of Chalcis, who synthesized Platonism with...
(4th century), historian - Karl Heinrich UlrichsKarl Heinrich Ulrichsfor the periodical directory, see Ulrich's Periodicals DirectoryKarl-Heinrich Ulrichs , is seen today as the pioneer of the modern gay rights movement.-Early life:...
(1825–1895), writer - Trebisonda VallaTrebisonda VallaTrebisonda Valla, also known as Ondina Valla was an Italian female athlete, and the first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal...
, (Bologna 1916 – L'Aquila 2006), Olympic gold medal - Amleto VespaAmleto VespaAmleto Vespa was a mercenary and secret agent of Italian origin, working in Manchuria between 1922 and 1940, first for a local warlord, and then for the Empire of Japan...
(1888–1940), spy for Japan - Bruno VespaBruno VespaBruno Vespa is an Italian television and newspaper journalist.A former director of Italian state-owned TV channel Rai Uno's news program TG1, he is the founding host of the program Porta a Porta , which has been broadcast without interruption on RAI channels since 1996.Vespa was born in L'Aquila,...
(b. 1944), journalist
External links
- Official website
- Gran Sasso Images, news
- In the Land of Bears and Castles, The Financial Times, June 29, 2007