:''Leonessa is also the name of a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of

Bassano Romano Bassano Romano is a town and ''comune'' situated in the hills of Monti Sabatini in the province of Viterbo, in northern Lazio (Italy). With its origins about 1000 as the agricultural hamlet of Bassano di SutriSutri was an important Etruscan, Roman ...

.'' Leonessa is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local 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 can also ...

'' in the far northeastern part of the Province of Rieti in the

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region of central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Its population in 2008 was around 2,700. Situated in a small plain at the foot of Mt.

Terminillo Monte Terminillo is a massif in the Monti Reatini, part of the Abruzzi Apennine range in central Italy. It is located some 20 km from Rieti and 100 km from Rome and has a highest altitude of . It is a typical Apennine massif, both fo ...

, one of the highest mountains of the Apennine range, in the winter Leonessa is known mostly as a low-key staging center for the ski slopes of the Terminillo, and in the summer as a weekend vacation town frequented for the most part by Romans with local roots. Historically, the town is known mostly as the birthplace of St. Giuseppe di Leonessa. Until 1927 it was part of the province of L'Aquila. The town suffered one of the worst German reprisals during World War II when the Wehrmacht and the SS killed 51 inhabitants in early April 1944. A monument dedicated to the dead was erected in 1959. Typical food production include the local variety of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

, known as ''patata di Leonessa''. Leonessa is twinned with the French town of

Gonesse Gonesse () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. The commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport, and it is ...

Main sights

Leonessa is an art city of primarily medieval aspect, with a historical main square. Churches include: *'' San Pietro'' *'' San Francesco'' *Church and sanctuary of ''

San Giuseppe San Giuseppe is the Italian name of Saint Joseph. It may refer to: Places of Italy Municipalities *San Giuseppe Jato, in the Province of Palermo, Sicily *San Giuseppe Vesuviano, in the Province of Naples, Campania *Rima San Giuseppe, in the Provinc ...

'' *''

Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

'' *'' Madonna di Loreto''

''Frazioni''

Albaneto, Casanova, Fontenova, Leonessa Colleverde, Cumulata, Sala, San Clemente, San Vito, Vallimpuni, Viesci, Vindoli, Volciano, Casale dei Frati, Villa Alesse, Villa Berti, Villa Bigioni, Villa Bradde, Villa Carmine, Villa Ciavatta, Villa Climinti, Villa Colapietro, Villa Cordisco, Villa Gizzi, Villa Lucci, Villa Massi, Villa Pulcini, Villa Zunna, Albaneto, Piedelpoggio, Villa Immagine, Corvatello, Sant'Angelo, Terzone, Casa Buccioli, Capodacqua, Ocre, Pianezza, San Giovenale, Vallunga

External links

*
Bill Thayer's site

Cities and towns in Lazio {{Lazio-geo-stub