Onna, L'Aquila
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Onna 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
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 ...
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 Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...
. It is situated in the Apennine Mountain Range,
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. 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 (; 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 allowing the electi ...
, in Villa Unda. Onna is mentioned again by
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
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 (, 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 Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
s.


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 An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy, at 03:32 Central European Time#Central European Summer Time, CEST (01:32 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) on 6 April 2009. It was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on ...
. At least 40 people died in Onna.


References


External links


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