Onna is 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

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) 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. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

in the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, region of

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central It ...

. It is situated in the Apennine Mountain Range,

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. The population is about 300 people.

Early history

The area has been inhabited for approximately 1,000 years. It is probable that initially it did not have a defined city structure. During the Roman conquest, the fertility of the area guaranteed food production for Rome. The earliest record of Onna is in 1178 during the time of

Pope Clement III Pope Clement III ( la, Clemens III; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by all ...

, in Villa Unda. Onna is mentioned again by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

in 1204. Aside from these two records, the early history of the area is a mystery. There existed a "grancia" (a type of agricultural company detached from the convent) run by the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Modern history

A girl was killed by the German occupation forces on 2 June 1944. Nine days later, a large-scale massacre occurred in which 16 persons were killed. This act of retaliation was perpetrated by the 114th Jäger Division, led by

Hans Boelsen Hans Boelsen (6 March 1894 – 24 October 1960) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. During his time in command of the 114th Jäger Division, the unit wa ...

. One-third of the village was also destroyed. On 6 April 2009, 85% of Onna's territory was destroyed. Other villages were severely damaged as a result of the

2009 L'Aquila earthquake The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; ...

. At least 40 people died in Onna.

References

External links

Photo, earthquake damage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onna (L'aquila) Frazioni of L'Aquila