Gran Sasso d'Italia (Italian: [ɡran ˈsasso diˈtaːlja]; lit. 'Great Rock of Italy') is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande 2,912 metres (9,554 ft), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies within Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.
Abruzzo (US: /ɑːˈbruːtsoʊ, əˈ-/, UK: /æˈbrʊtsoʊ/, Italian: [aˈbruttso]; Abruzzese Neapolitan: Abbrùzze [abˈbruttsə], Abbrìzze [abˈbrittsə], or Abbrèzze [abˈbrɛttsə]; Aquilano: Abbrùzzu), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy. It has an area of 10,831.84 square kilometres (4,182.20 sq mi) and a population of nearly 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border, shared with Lazio, lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. L'Aquila is both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila, and is the second largest city. The other provincial capitals are Pescara, which is Abruzzo's largest city and major port, Teramo, and Chieti. Other large cities and towns in Abruzzo include the industrial and high tech center Avezzano, as well as three important industrial and touristic centers, Vasto, Lanciano, and Sulmona.
Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and northwest, Molise to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east, with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
The province of L'Aquila (Italian: provincia dell'Aquila) is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It has borders with the provinces of Teramo to the north, Pescara and Chieti to the east, Isernia (in Molise region) to the south and Frosinone, Rome and Rieti (in Lazio region) to the west. Its capital is the city of L'Aquila.
The province of L'Aquila includes the highest mountains of the Apennines (Gran Sasso, Maiella and Velino-Sirente), their highest peak, Corno Grande, the high plain of Campo Imperatore, and Europe's southernmost glacier, the Calderone. The province's major rivers are the Aterno-Pescara, Sangro, Liri, Salto, and the Turano; its major lakes are Lago Scanno and Lago Barrea. It once included the third largest lake on the Italian peninsula, Lago Fucino, which was drained in one of the 19th century's largest engineering projects. The lake basin is today a flourishing agricultural area and an important technological district.
L'Aquila (/ˈlækwɪlə/ LAK-wil-ə; Italian: [ˈlaːkwila] ; Neapolitan: [ˈlaːkwiːlə]) is the capital city of the region of Abruzzo in central Italy. With 70,421 inhabitants as of 2025, it is also the second-largest city in the region. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains, with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east.
L'Aquila sits on a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley; the tall snow-capped mountains of the Gran Sasso massif flank the town. A maze of narrow streets, lined with Baroque and Renaissance buildings and churches, open onto elegant piazzas. Home to the University of L'Aquila, it is a lively college town and, as such, has many cultural institutions: a repertory theatre, a symphony orchestra, a fine art academy, a state conservatory and a film institute. There are several ski resorts in the surrounding province (Campo Imperatore, Ovindoli, Pescasseroli, Roccaraso, Scanno).
Teramo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtɛːramo] ; Abruzzese: Tèreme [ˈtɛːrəmə]) is a city and comune in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.
The city, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines (Gran Sasso d'Italia) and the Adriatic coast. The town is located by the confluence of the Vezzola and Tordino rivers, on a hillside area where the terrain features along with the Mediterranean climate make the territory rich in vineyards and olive groves.
The Gran Sasso raid on 12 September 1943 freed Benito Mussolini from imprisonment in a hotel on the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif. The World War II operation was codenamed "Operation Oak" (Unternehmen Eiche) by the German military. The raid by German paratroopers and Waffen-SS commandos was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler, approved by General Kurt Student, and planned and executed by Major Harald Mors.
Operation Oak was marketed as a stunning military feat by Nazi propagandists, aiming to provide a morale boost at a low point in the war for Germany. In fact, the Germans controlled the territory around the hotel and were never in great danger.
Paganica is a hillside town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. located at 669 meters above sea level, at the foot of the Gran Sasso d'Italia, about 7 kilometers east of the historic center, along the state road 17 bis that from Bazzano climbs to Campo Imperatore passing for Tempèra, Camarda, Assergi and Fonte Cerreto, with a population of about 10 000 inhabitants, making it the largest fraction of the city, as well as of considerable economic importance. It is a frazione of the comune of L'Aquila (which is some 7 km far), and has a population of about 5,000.
On April 6, 2009, the center was hit by a disastrous earthquake which caused heavy damage to the town (including a burst water pipe, which caused a landslide), resulting in an almost total evacuation. In 2011 the restoration works began, which have recovered part of the historical heritage, and the influx of the population.