Valle Peligna

The Valle Peligna, also known as ''Conca di Sulmona'', is a plateau in central Abruzzo, southern Italy, included in the

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

. It has a surface of some 100 km². The valley takes its name from the

Paeligni The Paeligni or Peligni were an Italic tribe who lived in the Valle Peligna, in what is now Abruzzo, central Italy. History The Paeligni are first mentioned as a member of a confederacy that included the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini, with which ...

. In prehistoric times, it was occupied by a lake which disappeared after a series of earthquakes approximately 300,000 years ago, leaving the land full of marshes but fertile. The former barrier between the lake and the sea was in what are now the gorges of

Popoli Popoli is a '' comune'' and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy. History Though the site has not revealed significant Roman presence it appears in a ninth-century document as ''borgo di Pagus Fabianus''. Its name in m ...

. Three hills near

Sulmona Sulmona ( nap, label= Abruzzese, Sulmóne; la, Sulmo; grc, Σουλμῶν, Soulmôn) is a city and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared in ...

are the relics of the single island in the lake. The valley is crossed by the rivers Aterno and Sagittario. In addition to

, the main centers in the plateau include

Raiano Raiano (locally ''Raianë'') is a town and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Geography Raiano is located at above sea level, on the western side of the Peligna Valley. In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the ...

, Vittorito,

Corfinio Corfinio is a ''comune'' (municipality) and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. In the Middle Ages, Roman ''Corfinium'' was known as Valva, and was the seat of a bishopric. This name is preserved in the name of the uni ...

, Pratola Peligna and Pacentro. Historically, it was inhabited by the

, an Oscan tribe. {{coord, 42, 04, 49, N, 13, 53, 16, E, region:IT_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Landforms of Abruzzo Peligna Sulmona