L'Aquila info:
L'Aquila is a city and comune of central Italy. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, and surrounded by the Apennine Mountains, with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east, it is both the capital of the Abruzzo region and the seat of the province of L'Aquila. Described as "the most handsome city of the Abruzzo" by the Financial Times, L'Aquila sits upon 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 or renaissance buildings and churches, opening onto elegant piazzas, home to the University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila 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, and a film institute.

The Gran Sasso with its majestic tops plus the Aterno’s Valley with its plateaus, forests, coves, lakes, and spring water combine to form a charming natural atmosphere in which the genius of the man has left its tracks with works that defy the centuries. All the places speak about history, art, spirituality and ancient civilization. The propitious atmosphere for the cult of the tradition is evidenced in its simple cuisine, poetry of the folklore and purity of its handicraft. These are the flavors of L’Aquila earth that will satisfy you.

Abruzzo’s capital lies at the foot of the Gran Sasso, whose peak, at 9596 ft, is the highest point of the Italian mainland south of the Alps.

The medieval L’Aquila is an intriguing town in its own right, as well as making an ideal base for travelling around the rest of Abruzzo. The name means “the eagle”, the symbol of empire. In fact the city was founded by Emperor Frederick II in 1240 as a bulwark against the popes.

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