Assergi, Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo

At 20 km from L'Aquila, Assergi lies just below the imposing Gran Sasso d'Italia. A couple of kilometres away there is Fonte Cerreto ("la Villetta"), with a cableway to the Campo Imperatore skislopes. There are a number of fine churches, 14 fountains and the remains of a medieval castle.

Info

Altitude: 900 m a.s.l
Distance from L'Aquila: 20 km
Population: ca. 500 inhabitants
Postal code: 67010
Dialing Area Code: +39 0862
How to reach it: A24 Roma-L'Aquila-Teramo, exit Assergi; by road, S.S. 17 bis from L'Aquila; by bus, from l'Aquila.

History

The village is ancient, and also took part to the foundation of nearby L'Aquila. It is still possible to see the walls that surrounded the medieval citadel.

What to see

Santa Maria Assunta.
The church of Madonna del Mulino.
Three chapels: Madonna della Villa, Madonna del Castello and Madonna del Fiume.
The Gran Sasso d'Italia
Nearby, the Grotta a Male, an important destination for speleologists and archaeologists. 420 m long, with a slope of 84 m, the grottos consists of large rooms full of stalactites, with two small lakes and many paleontological traces of prehistoric man.
A few kms away, on the road leading to Valle del Vasto, it is still possible to admire the beautiful XIII-century San Pietro della Genca, near the remains of an ancient borough, which still witness to the importance of the old monastery economy based on sheep raising.
A few kms up into the mountains it is possible to reach the spring called Acque di San Franco, where the ancient hermit led his saint life.