L'Aquila was founded in 1254 in an anti-feudal position by 99 castles, small urban agglomerations born following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which federated to build a large city. Then destroyed by Manfred of Sicily, in 1266 L' Aquila was rebuilt as a free municipality with Charles I of Anjou.
Municipality of about 70,000 inhabitans and capital of the Abruzzo Region stands in a central position with respect to the Gran Sasso.
It is characterized by a vast architectural heritage made up of churches, palaces and buildings, a wonderful natural environment and a long history, this is L'Aquila one of the most important towns in central Italy. Located along the banks of the river Aterno at an altitude of 721 meters above sea level.
The city was founded in 1254 in anti-feudal function from 99 castles, small urban agglomerations born following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which federated to build a large city. Then destroyed by Manfredi of Sicily, in 1266 Aquila was rebuilt as a free municipality with Charles I of Anjou.
Part of the Kingdom of Naples, in the 15th century, thanks to its economy, Aquila became the second city of the state in importance, immediately after Naples. Under the Habsburg rule, between the 16th and 17th centuries, it experienced a period of fluctuating economic growth which was abruptly interrupted by the catastrophic earthquake of 1703. It then experienced a new economic and cultural development only in the nineteenth century.
Despite the strong earthquakes of 1315, 1461, 1703 and 2009, in L'Aquila there is still a large historical heritage that shows a medieval layer testified above all by the walls, a Renaissance one that characterizes numerous palaces and churches and finally a baroque and neoclassical due to the post-eighteenth-century earthquake reconstructions.
When the site was chosen for the foundation of the city, a place called Acculi was identified, near where the fountain of the 99 cannelle is located; at the time of the foundation there was in that area a church with a monastery, Santa Maria in Fontes de Acquilis, so called because it was an area rich in springs.The area was in a strategic position between the two poles. The name of "Aquila" was therefore chosen for the new city, which took up the already existing toponym, but which also recalled the emblem of the imperial eagle, according to the founding diploma attributed to Emperor Conrad IV.
In fact, an eagle is depicted in the city's coat of arms. Laterally appears the motto Immota manet, which means "Stay still" and is perhaps taken from a verse by the Latin poet Virgil, who attributes to the oak the ability to take root strongly and therefore to remain still, and the abbreviation "PHS", which according to some, is a transcription error of the IHS christogram, while others think that it means publica hi According to another thesis, it stands for post hanc stragem, referring to rebirth after an earthquake. The city after the unification of Italy assumed the name "Aquila degli Abruzzi", but changed its name again during the fascist regime, acquiring the current one. The Royal Decree of 1939 introduced the article (capital letter) and the apostrophe, changing the name of the city to "L'Aquila". The change of name created a linguistic ambiguity about the correctness of the expressions "del'Aquila", "di L'Aquila", "de L'Aquila" or the like. In fact, in the same decree of 1939, it was defined as the official name of the province that of "Province of L'Aquila", which eliminates any possible doubt.
https://turismo.abruzzo.it/laquila/
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