L'Aquila is a city and comune of central Italy, on the Aterno river. It is both the capital of the Abruzzo region and the seat of the province of L'Aquila.

It lies on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno, surrounded by mountains on all sides, the Gran Sasso mountain range dominating to the north-east.

Although less than two hours' drive from Rome, the city (laid out within medieval walls) has not yet been heavily affected by foreign tourism. L'Aquila is a popular summer resort and in the cold winter the city welcomes a great number of skiers, mainly Romans, who stay in town while skiing at nearby resorts. L'Aquila lies on an elevated plain at the foot of the Apennines.

Main sights

In the highest part of the town is the massive fortress (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 (Duomo) was built in the 13th but crumbled down during the 1703 earthquake. The current façade is from the 19th century.

The church of San Bernardino di 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 S. 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 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 a number of 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 paintings. Outside the town is the "Fontana delle novantanove cannelle", a fountain with 99 spouts distributed along three walls, constructed in 1272.

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 as the location for the 1985 movie "Ladyhawke"), which is the highest castle in Italy and one of the highest in Europe.

History

Construction of the city was begun by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor 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 was indeed chosen after the heraldic eagle in the Hohenstaufen arms. The 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 People's Knight, 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, become 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 d'Este, former duke of Ferrara, and the children of Giampaolo Baglioni, deposed signor of Perugia. In the end, however, the Aquilans, always fond of their freedom, 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 Carlo 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.