Gian Paolo Baglioni (c. 1470 – June 1520) was an Italian condottiero , count of Bettona and Spello and lord of Perugia .
60-495: L'Aquila ( / ˈ l æ k w ɪ l ə / LAK -wil-ə ; Italian: [ˈlaːkwila] ; Neapolitan: [ˈlaːkwiːlə] ) is a city and comune in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila . As of 2024, it has a population of 69,902 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of
120-470: A Polizia Comunale ( lit. ' Communal Police ' ), which is responsible for public order duties. The comune also deal with the definition and compliance with the piano regolatore generale ( lit. ' general regulator plan ' ), a document that regulates the building activity within the communal area. All communal structures or schools, sports and cultural structures such as communal libraries, theaters, etc. are managed by
180-582: A 13-month-long siege of L'Aquila, that resisted bravely. Facing Braccio, at the head of the Angevine army was Muzio Attendolo Sforza and his son Francesco . The final clash between the two contenders was just below the walls of Aquila, near the hamlet today called Bazzano. In the battle fought on 2 June 1424, Braccio, mortally wounded in the neck, was made prisoner and transported to Aquila, where he died three days later, on 5 June 1424. The Pope had him buried in deconsecrated earth. The citizens of L'Aquila honoured
240-746: A major earthquake struck the town. More than 3,000 people died and almost all the churches collapsed; Rocca Calascio , the highest fortress in Europe was also ruined by this event, yet the town survived. L'Aquila was then repopulated by decision of Pope Clement XI . The town was rocked by earthquake again in 1706 . On 26 June 1958 an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude struck the town. On 6 April 2009, at 01:32 GMT (03:32 CEST) an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck central Italy with its epicentre near L'Aquila, at 42°25′22″N 13°23′40″E / 42.4228°N 13.3945°E / 42.4228; 13.3945 ( Earthquake April 6, 2009 ) . Initial reports said
300-501: A borough and considering it as a part of the mother-village. 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 Charles II of Naples appointed a "Camerlengo", responsible for city tributes (previously paid separately by each of its mother-villages). Later,
360-813: A comune as rione ( Italian: [riˈoːne] ; pl. : rioni ) or contrade . The term originated from the administrative divisions of Rome, and is derived from the Latin word regio ( pl. : regiones ), meaning "region". All currently extant rioni are located in Municipio I of Rome. The term has been adopted as a synonym of quartiere in the Italian comuni . Terzieri , quartieri , sestieri , rioni , and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities, seen especially in towns' annual Palio . A terziere ( pl. : terzieri )
420-459: A lesser extent, small local industries, which in time brought craftsmen and merchants from outside the area. Within a few decades L'Aquila became a crossroads in communications between cities within and beyond the Kingdom, thanks to the so-called "via degli Abruzzi", which ran from Florence to Naples by way of Perugia , Rieti, L'Aquila, Sulmona, Isernia, Venafro, Teano and Capua . Negotiations for
480-571: A new triarchy, with the Council and the King's Captain. Camponeschi, who was also Great Chancellor of the kingdom of Naples, became 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
540-462: A result of initiatives by Friar Giovanni da Capistrano and Friar Giacomo della Marca, Lombard masters undertook, in the relatively underdeveloped north-east of the city, an imposing series of buildings centring on the hospital of Saint Salvatore (1446) and the convent and the Basilica of San Bernardino . The construction work was long and difficult, mainly because of the earthquake of 1461, which caused
600-526: A separate ruler, through the arbitration of Venice, which were known as sestieri . The island of Crete , a Venetian colony (the Kingdom of Candia ) from the Fourth Crusade , was also divided into six parts, named after the sestieri of Venice herself, while the capital Candia retained the status of a comune of Venice. The island of Burano north of Venice is also subdivided into sestieri . A variation of
660-599: A synonymous of neighbourhood, and an Italian town can be now subdivided into a larger number of quartieri . The Swiss town of Lugano (in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino) is also subdivided into quarters. The English word quarter to mean an urban neighbourhood (e.g. the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana) is derived from the cognate old French word quartier . A sestiere ( pl. : sestieri )
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#1732877186308720-578: Is Predoi , the southernmost one Lampedusa e Linosa , the westernmost Bardonecchia and the easternmost Otranto . The comune with the longest name is San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore , while the comuni with the shortest name are Lu , Ro , Ne , Re and Vo' . The population density of the comuni varies widely by province and region . The province of Barletta-Andria-Trani , for example, has 381,091 inhabitants in 10 comuni , or over 39,000 inhabitants per comune ; whereas
780-1004: Is twinned with: L'Aquila railway station , on the Terni–Sulmona railway , is the main train station of the city, with trains to Terni , Rieti and Sulmona . L'Aquila , Abruzzo Aosta , Aosta Valley Bari , Apulia Potenza , Basilicata Catanzaro , Calabria Naples , Campania Bologna , Emilia-Romagna Trieste , Friuli-Venezia Giulia Rome , Lazio Genoa , Liguria Milan , Lombardy Ancona , Marche Campobasso , Molise Turin , Piedmont Cagliari , Sardinia Palermo , Sicily Trento , Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Florence , Tuscany Perugia , Umbria Venice , Veneto 42°21′0″N 13°24′0″E / 42.35000°N 13.40000°E / 42.35000; 13.40000 Comune A comune ( Italian: [koˈmuːne] ; pl. : comuni , Italian: [koˈmuːni] )
840-518: Is a list of the largest comuni in Italy, in descending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The provincial capitals are highlighted in bold. The following is a list of the smallest comuni in Italy, in ascending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The following is a list of the first comuni by altitude, in descending order. The indicated altitude coincides with
900-485: Is a lively college town and, as such, has many cultural institutions: a repertory theatre , a symphony orchestra, a fine-arts academy, a state conservatory, a film institute. There are several ski resorts in the surrounding province ( Campo Imperatore , Ovindoli , Pescasseroli , Roccaraso , Scanno ). Close to the highest of the Apennine summits , L'Aquila is positioned at an elevation of 721 metres (2,365 ft) in
960-454: Is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from sesto ( lit. ' sixth ' ), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the sestieri of Venice , but Ascoli Piceno , Genoa , Milan and Rapallo , for example, were also divided into sestieri . The medieval Lordship of Negroponte , on the island of Euboea , was also at times divided into six districts, each with
1020-592: Is a subdivision of several towns in Italy . The word derives from terzo ( lit. ' third ' ) and is thus used only for towns divided into three neighborhoods. Terzieri are most commonly found in Umbria , for example in Trevi , Spello , Narni and Città della Pieve ; towns divided into terzieri in other regions include Lucca in Tuscany , and Ancona and Macerata in
1080-409: Is an administrative division of Italy , roughly equivalent to a township or municipality . It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ( regioni ) and provinces ( province ). The comune can also have the title of città ( lit. ' city ' ). Formed praeter legem according to the principles consolidated in medieval municipalities ,
1140-440: Is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) east-northeast of Rome, with which it is connected by an autostrada through the mountains. The city's construction 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 means "Eagle" in Italian. Construction
1200-413: Is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called assessori , one of whom serves as deputy mayor ( vicesindaco ). The offices of the comune are housed in a building usually called the municipio , or palazzo comunale ( lit. ' town hall ' ). As of January 2021, there were 7,904 comuni in Italy; they vary considerably in size and population. For example,
1260-700: Is granted to comuni that have been awarded it by decree of the King of Italy (until 1946) or of the provisional head of state (from 1946 to 1948) or, subsequently, of the President of the Republic (after 1948), on the proposal of the Ministry of the Interior , to which the comune concerned sends an application for a concession, by virtue of their historical, artistic, civic or demographic importance. The comuni endowed with
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#17328771863081320-471: Is the immediate ancestor of the Jubilee Year . The pontificate of Celestine V gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, King Robert of Anjou granted privileges which had a decisive influence on the development of trade. These privileges protected all activities related to sheep-farming, exempting them from customs duties on imports and exports. This
1380-643: The comune is provided for by article 114 of the Constitution of Italy . It can be divided into frazioni , which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies. In the autonomous region of the Aosta Valley , a comune is officially called a commune in French. The comune provides essential public services: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds , and maintenance of local roads and public works. Many comuni have
1440-578: The comune of Rome , in Lazio , has an area of 1,287.36 km (497.05 sq mi) and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and the most populated. Atrani in the province of Salerno ( Campania ) was the smallest comune by area, with only 0.1206 km (0.0466 sq mi), and Morterone ( Lombardy ) is the smallest by population. Many present-day comuni trace their roots along timescales spanning centuries and at times millennia. The northernmost comune
1500-434: The comuni . Comuni must have their own communal statute and have a climatic and seismic classification of their territory for the purposes of hazard mitigation and civil protection . Comuni also deal with the waste management . It is headed by a mayor ( sindaco or sindaca ) assisted by a legislative body, the consiglio comunale ( lit. ' communal council ' ), and an executive body,
1560-411: The frazioni , but the comune still retains the name of the capoluogo . In some cases, a comune might not have the same name of capoluogo . In these cases, it is a comune sparso ( lit. ' dispersed comune ' ) and the frazione which hosts the town hall ( municipio ) is a sede municipale (compare county seat ). Some towns refer to neighborhoods within
1620-403: The giunta comunale ( lit. ' communal committee ' ). The mayor and members of the consiglio comunale are elected together by resident citizens: the coalition of the elected mayor (who needs a relative majority or an absolute majority in the first or second round of voting, depending on the population) gains three fifths of the consiglio 's seats. The giunta comunale
1680-667: The Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains , with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east. L'Aquila sits upon a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley; 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
1740-575: The Franciscan order of the Observance, visited L'Aquila twice, the first time to preach in the presence of King René of Naples , and in 1444, on his second visit, he died in the city. In 1481 Adam of Rottweil , a pupil and collaborator of Johann Gutenberg , obtained permission to establish a printing press in L'Aquila. The Osservanti branch of the Franciscan order had a decisive influence on L'Aquila. As
1800-480: The Marches . The medieval Lordship of Negroponte , on the island of Euboea , was also divided into three distinct rulerships, which were known as terzieri . A quartiere ( Italian: [kwarˈtjɛːre] ; pl. : quartieri ) is a territorial subdivision, properly used, for towns divided into four neighborhoods ( quarto ; lit. ' fourth ' ) by the two main roads. It has been later used as
1860-728: The War of Urbino against Francesco Maria della Rovere , who also besieged Perugia. In 1516 he received the title of count of Bettona from Pope Leo X . In 1520, accused of an attempted assassination in Rome, Baglioni was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo and beheaded. He was subsequently buried in the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina . His descendant Emilio Baglioni was born in Macchia D'Aboreq, province of Valle Castallana, Abruzzo , Italia in 1932, and
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1920-513: The cinematographic activities was the Cineforum Primo Piano founded by Gabriele Lucci in the middle of the 1970s. As a work of Lucci, in 1981 saw the establishment of l'Istituto Cinematografico dell'Aquila, an institute for the production and diffusion of the cinematographic culture in Italia and abroad. The Teatro Stabile d'Abruzzo is based in the city and was formed in 2000. The city is
1980-572: The province of Isernia has 81,415 inhabitants in 52 comuni , or 1,640 inhabitants per comune – roughly 24 times more communal units per inhabitant. The coats of arms of the comuni are assigned by decree of the Prime Minister of Italy by the Office of State Ceremonial and Honors, Honors and Heraldry Service (division of the Presidency of the Council born from the transformation of
2040-709: The 2009 earthquake, the Berlusconi government decided to move that year's G8 summit from its scheduled Sardinian host of La Maddalena to L'Aquila, so that disaster funds would be distributed to the affected region and to show solidarity with the city's inhabitants. World leaders converged on L'Aquila on 8 July and many of them were given tours of the devastated city by the host Prime Minister. L'Aquila has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ), influenced by its high altitude. Although less than an hour-and-a-half drive from Rome, and popular with Romans for summer hiking and winter skiing in surrounding mountains,
2100-547: The Camerlengo also took political power, as President of the City Council. From its beginnings the city constituted an important market for the surrounding countryside, which provided it with a regular supply of food: from the fertile valleys came the precious saffron; the surrounding mountain pastures provided summer grazing for numerous transhumant flocks of sheep, which in turn supplied abundant raw materials for export and, to
2160-533: The King had granted the city its own mint. In the middle of the 14th century the city was struck by plague epidemics (1348, 1363) and earthquakes (1349). Reconstruction began soon, however. In the 14th–15th century Jewish families came to live in the city, while the generals of the Franciscan Order chose the city as the seat of the Order's general chapters (1376, 1408, 1411, 1450, 1452, 1495). Bernardino of Siena , of
2220-554: The Roman Papacy , sometimes with the Kingdom of Naples. When the Pope excommunicated Joanna II , Queen of Naples, appointing Louis III of Anjou as heir to the crown in her stead, L'Aquila sided with the Angevines. Joanna hired the condottiero Braccio da Montone . In exchange for his services, Braccio obtained the lordship of Teramo, as well as the fiefdoms of Capua and Foggia: he started
2280-490: The Royal Consulta Araldica , eliminated pursuant to the provisions final of the Constitution of Italy ). Administrative subdivisions within comuni vary according to their population size. Comuni with at least 250,000 residents are divided into circoscrizioni (roughly equivalent to French arrondissements or London boroughs ) to which the comune delegates administrative functions like
2340-600: The Valley of the Aterno-Pescara , situated between four mountain peaks above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The mountains block the city off from warm humid air currents from the Mediterranean , and give rise to a climate that is cool in comparison to most of central Italy , and dry. It's common to say between locals that the city enjoys each year 11 cold months and one cool one ("Undici misi de friddu e unu de friscu"). L'Aquila
2400-489: The bravery of their enemy Braccio by dedicating one of the main streets of the city to his name. This period of freedom and prosperity ended in the 16th century, when Spanish viceroy Philibert van Oranje partially destroyed L'Aquila and established Spanish feudalism in its countryside. The city, separated from its roots, never developed again. Ancient privileges were revoked. L'Aquila was again destroyed by an earthquake in 1703. Successive earthquakes have repeatedly damaged
2460-462: The buildings to collapse, and the translation of the body of San Bernardino did not take place until 14 May 1472. The whole city suffered serious damage on the occasion of the earthquake, and two years went by before repairs on the churches and convents began. In a strategy finalised to increasing their political and economic autonomy, the Aquilani took a series of political gambles, siding sometimes with
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2520-514: The capital of the province of Reggio Emilia , in the Emilia-Romagna region, and Reggio di Calabria , the capital of the homonymous metropolitan city , in the Calabria region. Many other towns or villages are likewise partial homonyms (e.g. Anzola dell'Emilia and Anzola d'Ossola , or Bagnara Calabra and Bagnara di Romagna ). The title of città ( lit. ' city ' ) in Italy
2580-612: The city is sparsely visited by tourists. Among the sights are: Also nearby are several ski resorts like Gran Sasso d'Italia , the highest of the Apennines where in its valley the movie The Name of the Rose was filmed in the end of the 1980s. The town also contains some fine 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 pictures. The first step of L'Aquila in
2640-473: The city razed to the ground in an attempt to destroy the negotiations. On 29 August 1294 the hermit Pietro del Morrone was consecrated as pope Celestine V in the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio , in commemoration of which the new pope decreed the annual religious rite of the Pardon (nowadays known as Celestinian Forgiveness , Perdonanza Celestiniana ), still observed today in the city on 28 and 29 August: it
2700-484: The city's large cathedral , and destroyed the original dome of the Basilica of San Bernardino , designed along the lines of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The city was also sacked two times by French troops in 1799. L'Aquila, like so much of Italy, is a city of political contrasts. In the 1970s a novel by Alberto Moravia was seized because it was considered obscene, a local Catholic Archbishop protested
2760-505: The earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings in L'Aquila. Several buildings also collapsed. 308 people were killed by the earthquake, and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Twenty of the victims were children. Around 65,000 people were made homeless. There were many students trapped in a partially collapsed dormitory. The 6 April earthquake was felt throughout Abruzzo ; as far away as Rome, other parts of Lazio , Marche, Molise , Umbria , and Campania . Because of
2820-609: The family rivals, the Oddi. In 1498 he was hired by Florence to hold minor operations in Umbria. In July 1500, he escaped an assassination attempt by Grifone and Carlo Barciglia . Later he was at the service of the Papal States , fighting mostly along with Vitellozzo Vitelli . Among his deeds of this period, was the cruel reconquest of Camerino for the Da Varano family, which occurred after
2880-424: The height above sea level of the town hall. List of the first comuni by population in descending order, according to ISTAT data updated to 28 February 2022. The regional capitals are in bold. The data is updated as of 1 January 2021. The data is updated as of 1 January 2021. Gian Paolo Baglioni He was the son of Rodolfo Baglioni and initially fought mostly in Umbria , especially against
2940-972: The home of five-time Italian champions L'Aquila Rugby . The football squad, L'Aquila Calcio , played 3 times in serie B . The following is a list of the frazioni in the comune of L'Aquila: Aquilio, Aragno , Arischia , Assergi , Bagno , Bazzano, Camarda , Cansatessa, Casaline, Cermone, Cese di Preturo , Civita di Bagno, Colle di Preturo, Colle di Sassa, Colle Roio – Poggio di Roio, Collebrincioni, Collefracido di Sassa, Collemare di Sassa, Coppito, Filetto, Foce di Sassa, Forcelle, Genzano di Sassa, Gignano, Monticchio , Onna , Paganica , Pagliare di Sassa, Pescomaggiore, Pettino, Pianola , Pile, Pizzutillo, Poggio di Roio, Poggio Santa Maria , Pozza di Preturo, Pratelle, Preturo , Ripa, Roio Piano , San Giacomo Alto, San Giuliano, San Gregorio , San Leonardo, San Marco Di Preturo, San Martino di Sassa, Santa Rufina di Roio, Sant'Angelo, Sant'Elia , Santi, San Vittorino , Sassa , Tempera, Torretta, Vallesindola, Vasche. L'Aquila
3000-653: The judge's decision was overturned. In May 2007 Massimo Cialente , a physician and medical researcher, was elected mayor of L'Aquila with a centre-left coalition. Earthquakes mark the history of L'Aquila, as the city is partly built on an ancient lake-bed which amplifies seismic activity. On 3 December 1315 the city was struck by an earthquake which seriously damaged the San Francesco Church. Another earthquake struck on 9 September 1349 , killing about 800 people. Other earthquakes struck in 1452, then on 26 November 1461 , and again in 1501 and 1646. On 3 February 1703
3060-405: The nudity of a centuries-old statue of a young man, and a group of local reactionaries even asked for the seizure of the £50 coin because it showed a naked man. In October 2003, however, a liberal judge in l'Aquila ordered the small town of Ofena to remove a crucifix from its elementary school so as to not to offend the religious sensibilities of two young Muslim students. After a national outcry,
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#17328771863083120-467: The power of the pope by giving refuge to Alfonso I d'Este , former duke of Ferrara , and the children of Giampaolo Baglioni , deposed lord of Perugia . In the end, however, the Aquilans 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
3180-443: The running of schools, social services and waste collection; the delegated functions vary from comune to comune . These bodies are headed by an elected president and a local council. Smaller comuni usually comprise: Sometimes a frazione might be more populated than the capoluogo ; and rarely, owing to unusual circumstances (like depopulation), the town hall and its administrative functions can be moved to one of
3240-514: The short rule of Cesare Borgia . After a period of independent and ruthless actions, in 1506 he submitted to Pope Julius II . In 1511 he was hired by the Republic of Venice , for which, in a long series of military actions, he opposed the French troops in the course of the War of the League of Cambrai . In November 1513 he was captured in a clash at Creazzo but was freed afterwards. In 1517 he fought in
3300-558: The succession of Edmund, son of Henry III of England , to the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily involved L'Aquila in the web of interests linking the Roman Curia to the English court . On 23 December 1256 Pope Alexander IV elevated the churches of Saints Massimo and Giorgio to the status of cathedrals as a reward to the citizens of L'Aquila for their opposition to King Manfred who, in July 1259, had
3360-429: The title of città usually carry the golden crown above their coat of arms, except with different provisions in the decree approving the coat of arms or in the presence). "The crown of the city ([...]) is formed by a golden circle opened by eight city gates (five visible) with two cordoned walls on the margins, supporting eight towers (five visible) joined by curtain walls, all in gold and black walled." The following
3420-427: The word is occasionally found: the comune of Leonessa , for example, is divided into sesti or sixths. There are not many perfect homonymous comuni . There are only six cases in 12 comuni : This is mostly due to the fact the name of the province or region was appended to the name of the comune in order to avoid the confusion. Two provincial capitals share the name Reggio : Reggio nell'Emilia ,
3480-460: 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 the People's Knight, but he was then killed when he became a tyrant. Later, it fell under Pietro "Lalle" Camponeschi, Count of Montorio, who became the third side of
3540-405: 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 , his successor as king of Sicily. The walls were completed in 1316. It quickly became the second city of the Kingdom of Naples . It
3600-514: Was the period in which merchants from Tuscany (Scale, Bonaccorsi) and Rieti purchased houses in the city. Hence the conditions for radical political renewal: in 1355 the trade guilds of leather-workers, metal-workers, merchants and learned men were brought into the government of the city, and these together with the Camerario and the Cinque constituted the new Camera Aquilana. Eleven years earlier, in 1344,
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