Pratola Peligna is a comune

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:...

and town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in 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...

 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 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...

. As of 2009, it has a population of 7,888 inhabitants.

Geography

Pratola Peligna is located in 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...

 in 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...

. It is considered part of the Southern Zone of 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...

. It is bordered by Caramanico Terme

Caramanico Terme

Caramanico Terme is a comune and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, situated near the confluence of the Orfento and Orta rivers, on a hilltop between the Monte Morrone and the Majella mountains.-History:...

, Corfinio

Corfinio

Corfinio is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....

, Prezza, Raiano

Raiano

Raiano is a town and comune of the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy.-Geography:Raiano is located at 390 m above sea level, on the western side of the Peligna Valley. In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder subdivided the Peligna region and its people into three...

, Roccacasale

Roccacasale

Roccacasale is a comune in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Built on the slopes of the Monte della Rocca in the central Apennines, the village overlooks the Peligna Valley and the town of Sulmona....

, Salle

Salle

Salle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 50 in 21 households...

, and Sulmona

Sulmona

thumb|150px|Celestine V's hermitage and the remains of the Shrine of Hercules Curinus.thumb|150px|Palazzo SS. Annunziata and Museo Civicothumb|150px|Church of SS...

. The town has five localities (in Italian frazioni): Badia-Bagnatura, Capo la Costa, Costa d'Orsa, Ponte la Torre, and Villa.

History

The town did not officially take the name of Pratola Peligna until after the unification of Italy in 1863.

Honors

Following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Italian Republic awarded Pratola Peligna with the Bronze Medal of Civil Merit (Medaglia di bronzo al Merito Civile).

"Strategically important centre, during the last world war, was subjected to constant and violent bombings that caused numerous civilian casualties and the destruction of the industry. The population, forced to take refuge in the surrounding countryside, contributed to the war of liberation with the Constitution of the first partisans, suffering a fierce retaliation by the German Army."

-Pratola Peligna (AQ) 1943-1944

Employment

There are 159 industrial firms and 192 service firms located in Pratola Peligna. The remaining laborers work at the other 201 firms and the 49 administrative offices in the town. In all, 2,137 citizens work in Pratola Peligna, or 27% of the population.