Assergi is a

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

of the

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 ...

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

, located about from the capital. With a population of just over 500, it is situated at an altitude of approximately 1,000 meters, below the western slope of the Gran Sasso in a small plain called the ''Piana di Assergi ''(Plain of Assergi). Assergi was formerly included in the comune of Camarda, which is directly to its south. Assergi is located entirely within the

Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in central Italy. Established in 1991, it covers an area of , mostly within the provinces of Teramo, L'Aquila, and Pescara in Abruzzo, with small areas in the provinces of Rieti ...

, and also contains the

Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare The Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN; "National Institute for Nuclear Physics") is the coordinating institution for nuclear, particle, theoretical and astroparticle physics in Italy. History INFN was founded on the 8th of August 1 ...

, a national laboratory of

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

. Also in Assergi is the base of the Funivia del Gran Sasso d'Italia, a cable car that leads to the Campo Imperatore.

History

The area around Assergi was settled by the

Vestini Vestini () were an Italic peoples, Italic tribe who occupied the area of the modern Abruzzo (central Italy), included between the Gran Sasso and the northern bank of the Aterno-Pescara, Aterno river. Their main centres were ''Pitinum ''(near mo ...

, a local tribe. These origins are evident in the ruins of the town of ''Prifernum'', situated near the current site of Assergi. Likely abandoned by the second century BC, it was reestablished in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times as the small village of ''Castrum Asserici'', to provide accommodation to workers of nearby mines. The center developed further in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

around the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery of Santa Maria ''ad silicem.'' The town was completely fortified at the time, and the city walls and gates on the eastern and southern sides are still standing. In the 13th century, Assergi and 98 other local villages participated in the founding of

. As the countryside of L'Aquila dissolved, the Spaniards offered the remaining pieces for sale. Assergi was purchased between 1530 and 1540 by Cristoforo Cenci, whose family remained in the area until the land was lost in events related to Beatrice Cenci after 1586. It was then passed to the Caffarelli family, who held the area as a duke, along with neighboring Aragno, Camarda e Filetto. Despite being on the main route from L'Aquila to Campo Imperatore, the town of Assergi gradually declined in importance. In the 18th century, it joined the district of

Paganica Paganica is a hillside town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. located at 669 meters above sea level, at the foot of the Gran Sasso d'Italia, about 7 kilometers east of the historic center, along the state road ...

, and it later joined the municipality of Camarda until after the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

. In 1927, several municipalities were forcefully dissolved and merged to form the ''Grande Aquila'', in order to increase the importance of L'Aquila in the region. The

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

government strongly supported the development of mountain sports and tourism in the area. In 1934, the town of Fonte Cerreto was built slightly above the center of Assergi around the base of the Funivia del Gran Sasso d'Italia, a cable car leading to the Campo Imperatore. Since 1979, there has been an exit on Autostrada A24 in Assergi, allowing for easy connections to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Teramo Teramo (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Italia) and the Adriatic coast. Th ...

. On the other side of the Gran Sasso, and since 1982, it has been the site of the

, who established in 1985, the

Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is the largest underground research center in the world. Situated below Gran Sasso mountain in Italy, it is well known for particle physics research by the INFN. In addition to a surface portion of t ...

, a nuclear physics laboratory located under the Gran Sasso massif. The first large experiments at LNGS ran in 1989; the facilities were later expanded, and it is now the largest underground laboratory in the world.

Monuments and places of interest

Assergi is an important tourist site for nature and sporting trips. It is linked to various nearby villages, including Calascio, Castel del Monte e Santo Stefano di Sessanio, as well as the plain of Campo Imperatore by numerous trails that can be covered on foot, mountain bike, or horseback. It is also located along the l'Ippovia del Gran Sasso, a 300-km horse riding loop trail running along both sides of the Gran Sasso mountain.

Old town

The medieval village is surrounded by a series of walls dating back to the 11th century, much of which are still well preserved. Also standing are three arched gates to the old city.

Church of Santa Maria Assunta

The Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta is a church built in the 12th century, originally part of a larger monastery founded by Saint Equizio. The 15th-century facade, in the Romanesque style, is similar to that of the nearby church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, and bears the emblem of the region. Of note is the semicircular apse of the demolished church of Santa Maria della Neve, which was adapted for this church. Inside the church, there are several frescos and a

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

, which is from the ancient church of Saint Francis of Assergi, the patron saint of the town. The crypt is dug from the rock and contains three naves, which houses the relics of Saint Francis.

Convent of Santa Maria in Valle

Also in Assergi is the convent of Santa Maria in Valle, which was restored at the end of the 20th century. It is now home to the headquarters of the

. With an elegant

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

with frescos of the scenes of the life of St. Bernardino of Siena, the building houses a permanent archaeological exhibition of the artifacts from the nearby Male Cave.

Fonte Cerreto

Fonte Cerreto was built in the 1930s as a small tourist resort on the side of the Gran Sasso mountains. It was built under the time of

Italian Fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

, as part of a push to develop the tourism and sporting industry in the region. Fonte Cerreto contains the Funivia del Gran Sasso d'Italia cable car, one of the longest in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, which provides access within minutes to the Campo Imperatore, where there are various skiing facilities and a resort. Fonte Cerreto, which includes several restaurants and hotels, is a gateway to the national park and is the base of several

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment ...

trails that end at the Campo Imperatore. In 2016, an adventure park was opened in the nearby forest. The location is accessible by public transportation from L'Aquila with the M6F bus.

San Pietro della Jenca

In the vicinity of Assergi is another small village, San Pietro della Jenca, which also participated in the founding of L'Aquila in the 13th century. The village was destroyed as early as the 15th century, and now contains only a few stone buildings, including the church of San Pietro. This church was well known as a favorite destination of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, and in 1999 was dedicated to him.