Abruzzo · L'Aquila
L'Aquila
The regional capital at 721 meters, founded by Frederick II around 1240 and still reconstructing after the 2009 earthquake.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why L'Aquila is on our list
It holds Città d'Arte.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 29 min from Rome
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 70,425
- J9°
- F12°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J25°
- J30°
- A29°
- S24°
- O19°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
L'Aquila sits at 721 meters in a high plain between the Gran Sasso and the Velino-Sirente massifs, the regional capital of Abruzzo with 70,425 residents. The two ranges frame the city on opposite sides, so the plain reads as a corridor of settlement between mountains rather than a valley floor with one clear edge.
The founding myth ties the city's shape to its origins: people from 99 castles in the surrounding valley are said to have each built a piazza, a church and houses inside the new walls, so the old town is less a single design than a patchwork of neighborhoods stitched together at the point of founding. That patchwork still organizes the upper town, where the fortress on the highest ground, the civic squares, and the older parish churches sit at angles to each other rather than along one axis.
Reconstruction after the earthquake has proceeded unevenly across this patchwork: some quarters and monuments are finished and open, others still show scaffolding, and by early 2025 work stood at 88 percent of projects complete. The city today is best read as a medieval plan of independent parts, still being reassembled piece by piece rather than restored as a whole.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 39 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 28 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 39 min or Ancona 2 h 23 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Roma Termini? L'Aquila is about 1 h 28 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio
Romanesque-Gothic facade in stripes of pink and white stone, standing apart from the rest of the centro storico; the interior reopened to visitors in 2017.
Fontana delle 99 Cannelle
A civic fountain built into an angle of two walls, water running from 99 carved spouts of varying faces, tucked at the edge of the old town rather than in a central square.
Forte Spagnolo (Castello Cinquecentesco)
A squat, star-shaped fortress with a deep dry moat, occupying the highest ground of the upper town and visible above the rooftops from much of the city.
Basilica di San Bernardino
A tall flight of steps leads to a Renaissance facade by Cola dell'Amatrice; inside, a carved tomb sits beneath a coffered ceiling.
MAXXI L'Aquila (Palazzo Ardinghelli)
Art from Rome's museum installed inside a restored palace, its stuccoed rooms now hung with work far newer than the walls around them.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Corso StrettoRistorante
Corso Stretto carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
Da LincostaTrattoria
Da Lincosta has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
ElodiaRistorante
Elodia holds two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100).
7 more places the guides name in L'Aquila
Førma Contemporary RestaurantRistorante
Førma Contemporary Restaurant has two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) to its name.
Le Fontanelle di Enoa'Trattoria
Le Fontanelle di Enoa' has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
Lo Scalco dell'AquilaRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (77/100), at Lo Scalco dell'Aquila.
Osteria Alimentari da nonno AlbericoTrattoria
Osteria Alimentari da nonno Alberico carries one Gambero Rosso prawn.
RêverRistorante
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Rêver.
William Zonfa RistoranteRistorante
William Zonfa Ristorante has one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) to its name.
YOICHIFusion
YOICHI carries two Gambero Rosso Mappamondi.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
L'Aquila is a city.
- A city of 70,425 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 70,425, up 0.1% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes across the comune: €420 to €1,500 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 79% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Rome Ciampino airport (CIA), 1 h 22 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 13 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and North Macedonia, against 9% across Italy. 101 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United States and France. There are 227 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 43% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. L'Aquila province ranks 69th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Terni, 66 km away. The nearest IB school is Acorn International School, 88 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 83 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.01% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.6% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Abruzzo spends about €2,120 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €533 a year for water, on the Abruzzo average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 2% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
FREDERICK'S CITY
Founded around 1240 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, with the legend of 99 castles each building its own piazza inside the walls.
COLLEMAGGIO
1287 basilica where Pietro del Morrone was crowned Pope Celestine V on 29 August 1294; the Perdonanza is celebrated every August.
2009 EARTHQUAKE
Magnitude-6.3 quake on 6 April 2009 killed 308 people and damaged most of the centro storico; reconstruction continues into 2026.
ZAFFERANO DELL'AQUILA
The commune lies inside the Zafferano dell'Aquila DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is L'Aquila known for?
- L'Aquila is the regional capital at 721 meters, founded by Frederick II around 1240 and still reconstructing after the 2009 earthquake.
- Where is L'Aquila?
- L'Aquila is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to L'Aquila?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Ciampino (CIA), about 1 h 22 min by car.
- Can you get to L'Aquila without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to L'Aquila?
- About 1 h 39 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit L'Aquila?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like L'Aquila?
- Ariano Irpino, Brunico and Randazzo.
- How many people live in L'Aquila?
- 70,425 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is L'Aquila a good place to live?
- L'Aquila is a city of 70,425 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 79% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 721 m
- Population: 70,425
- Surface area: 473.91 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists L'Aquila appears in
- The best mountain towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romemountainby trainwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 1,059 residents · closest 60 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train that eat well within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romeby trainwithin 90 mineats well9 towns · smallest 4,957 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best towns that eat well in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceeats well10 towns · smallest 659 residents
Similar
Towns like L'Aquila
What all six share with L'Aquila: high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres · have a railway station in the comune
Ariano Irpino
Province: Avellino
both mountain-valley towns · both over 10,000 people
Brunico
Province: Bolzano
both mountain-valley towns · both over 10,000 people
Randazzo
Province: Catania
both mountain-valley towns · both over 10,000 people
Goriano Sicoli
Province: L'Aquila
both mountain-valley towns
Capistrello
Province: L'Aquila
both mountain-valley towns
Campobasso
Province: Campobasso
both over 10,000 people
The letter
L'Aquila is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when L'Aquila comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 62 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.