Massa d'Albe is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' and town in the

province of L'Aquila The province of L'Aquila () is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated Provinces of Italy, province of the Abruzzo region of Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It ...

in the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

region of central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is part of the

Marsica Marsica is a geographical and historical region in Abruzzo, central Italy, including 37 ''comuni'' in the province of L'Aquila. It is located between the plain of the former Fucine Lake, the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise, National Par ...

. The town was founded in the 14th century by the inhabitants of the ancient

Alba Fucens Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic people, Italic town located at elevation at the base of Monte Velino, approximately north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its ruins can be found in the ''comune'' of Massa d'Albe. The city is largely vis ...

, whose remains are in the area. The current ''comune'' was formed after 1915 by the union of two former ''comuni'', Massa and Corona, destroyed by an earthquake.

Geography

The central nucleus of the inhabited area lies on the south-western slopes of

Mount Velino Monte Velino is a mountain (2,487 m) in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy, part of the Apennine Mountains, Abruzzo Apennines. Background Located nearby the boundary with Lazio, between the Fucino plain and the Aterno, Salto ...

, one of the highest peaks of the central

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

(2,487 m). Part of the territory is included in the Sirente-Velino Regional Park and in the Monte Velino Natural Reserve. In a gorge of the mountainous group of Velino opens the Bocca di Teve (987 m) situated at the beginning of the homonymous valley that marks the border of Abruzzo with

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and with the Montagne della Duchessa Regional Reserve. The ''comune'' includes the built-up area of Massa and the ''frazioni'' of

and Forme. The

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

of Alba Fucens is situated few kilometers away from the communal chief town. The pass of Fonte Capo la Maina connects the territory to Ovindoli and to the

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

of Mount Magnola.

Geography

Climate

References

See also