Province of Aquila

Italian province, in the area of the the Abruzzi. The provincial capital is Aquila.

Geography

The province of Aquila is characterized by many mountains which are amply disseminated on its territory. Not touching sea, it has narrow valleys, and three conches (broad valleys): the conch of Aquila in north, the Peligna conch (of Sulmona) with center-is and the conch of the Fucin, in south-west. The latter, located at nearly 700 meters of altitude, is a basin with oneself, because it is completely closed by mountains on its four sides.

Formerly, before its draining, initially partial by the Romains which dug a 6 km length tunnel (the record length for their time!) but which was stopped at once, then total about 1860, there was an immense lake which almost entirely occupied the conch. This lake was large of 160 km ², it was the third plus big lake of Italy after the Lake Garda and the Lake Maggiore (although it was not deep only few meters; the incredible flatness of this conch, if you will see it, can testify to you)! Today, an intense agriculture (the attic with corn of Rome) replaced this lake, but that alas was the cause of a draining of all the conch, and species autochtones living the lake were exterminated. For some, it would be necessary to recreate again the lake, but not necessarily as large as at the origin, to fight against the problem of the dryness and of the biological poverty which inevitably accompanied the drainage by the conch there are one century and half. The other important lakes are the lake of Campotosto (14 km ²) and the lake of Scanno (1 km ²).

The principal solid masses of the province are the southernmost slope of the Gran Sasso in the North-East, characterized by steppes and a high-plain, the Campo Imperatore, which is as large as 10.000 football fields, and ranges between 1600 and 2000 meters of altitude. The hotel of Campo Imperatore, with 2130 meters of altitude, fascistic architecture red brick, was the prison of Mussolini in 1944, which was then released by 2 planes Nazis. Today, the hotel, which is an important basic point for the excursions on Gran Sasso, is surrounded by a ski station, a small vault, a botanical garden of mountain, and can be joined by the road or a cable car of 1.000 meters uneven.

The territory of Gran Sasso is now protected by the National park from Gran Sasso E Monti della Laga.

In the east of the province, just in the south of Aquila, there is the third higher massive the Apennines. It is Sirente Velino, which culminates with the Velino mount in the west (2486 meters) and the Sirente mount in the east (2358 meters). These two groups of the solid mass are divided by the high-plate of Rocche, which contains the most village of the Apennines: Rocca di Cambio with 1434 meters. With the foot of Sirente, there are splendid forests which shelter some bears. In the solid mass, there are two ski stations: Campo Felice and Ovindoli, with each one 30 km of ski slopes.

In the south of the province there is the National park of the Abruzzi, created in 1922. It is the first national park created in Europe, it is wide on 100.000 hectares. It made it possible to save extinction the Brown bear marsicain, the Loup of the Apennines and the Chamois of the Abruzzi. The 2/3 of its territory are covered with forest.

In the south-west of the province, the solid masses of Simbruini-Ernici exceed little the 2100 meters of altitude, but preserve important forests where remain of the bears. With horse with the Latium, the solid mass is protected that on the Roman slope by a regional park. The slope abruzzais, as for him, waits to be protected. A beautiful cascade on the slope abruzzais, Zompo lo Schioppo, is protected by a natural reserve. In the south-east of the province, the Western slope of the Majella overhangs Sulmona and its conch.

The principal rivers which are born to with it are Volturno (185 km), Liri (158 km), Salto, tributary of the the Tiber, the Aterno-Pescara (145 km) and Sangro (107 km), which is born in the middle same of the national park of the Abruzzi.

History

The name " abruzzes" ( Abruzzo in Italian, in the past Abruzzi ) comes from the people " aprutini" who colonized the area at the time Roman.

Economy

Culture

Tourism

Administration

Others

See too

Common of the province of Aquila

On the Fabric

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