Onna, L'Aquila
Encyclopedia
Frazione
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...
of L'Aquila
L'Aquila
L'Aquila 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...
in 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 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...
. It is situated in the Apennine Mountain Range
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...
, 582 m (1,909.4 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. The population is about 300 people.
Early history
The area has been inhabited for approximately 1,000 years. It is probable that initially it did not have a defined city structure. During the Roman conquest, the fertility of the area guaranteed food production for Rome.The earliest record of Onna is in 1178 during the time of Pope Clement III
Pope Clement III
Pope Clement III , born Paulino Scolari, was elected Pope on December 19, 1187 and reigned until his death.-Cardinal:...
, in Villa Unda. Onna is mentioned again by Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
in 1204. Aside from these two records, the early history of the area is a mystery. There existed a “grancia” (a type of agricultural company detached from the convent) run by the Cistercian monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s.
Modern history
A girl was killed by Germans on 2 June 1944. Nine days later, a Nazi massacre occurred in which 16 persons were killed.On 6 April 2009, 85% of Onna's territory was destroyed. Other villages were severely damaged as a result of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake
2009 L'Aquila earthquake
The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 3:32 local time on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together...
. At least 40 people died in Onna.