Paganica is a hillside town in the province of L'Aquila

Province of L'Aquila

thumb|left|200px|Map of the province.The Province of L'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 the region...

, in the Abruzzo

Abruzzo

Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...

 region of southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is a frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

of the comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

of L'Aquila

L'Aquila

L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...

 (which is some 7 km far), and has a population of about 7,000.

History

An old Roman city, in 1254 its citizens took part in the foundation of L'Aquila by Manfred of Sicily

Manfred of Sicily

Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...

. Until 1927 it was an autonomous municipality merged, with others, into L'Aquila.

On 6 April 2009, Paganica was severely damaged, with 70 percent of its building destroyed, as a result of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake

2009 L'Aquila earthquake

The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 3:32 local time on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together...

. The earthquake's epicenter was along the road between L'Aquila and Paganica, Paganica being the closest town to the epicenter.:

Main sights

• Sanctuary of Madonna d'Appari (14th century), built directly on the rock and characterized by precious frescoes from later centuries.
• The Romanesque Basilica of San Giustino (8th-12th centuries)
• Church of Santa Maria Assunta, of Franco
  Franks
  The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
  
  -Lombard
  Lombards
  The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
  
   origin, rebuilt in the 17th century. The façade is from 1655.
• The Ducal Palace and the Gothic House (14th century) nearby.

External links

Website of Paganica