Castle dungeon

davidx

The castle is well covered in the main section on L'Áquila.

The Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is a Templar church of the 13th century, notable for being the burial place of a pope outside the Vatican. It is also notable for its lovely leafy setting and its splendid pink and white facade with three doors and three rose windows.

Another feature of note is the 99 fountain at the bottom of the city near the station. L'Aquila is said to have been formed by the obligatory coming together of 99 communes and to have had 99 of practically everything.

At the top of the city  it's only a short urban bus ride to the funicular of the Gran Sasso, closed a lot outside the main summer and skiing seasons.

Sadly the earthquake of 2009, which caused so many deaths, also did very substantial harm to both the castle and the Collemagio church.