Scanno is a town and 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:...

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 central 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...

.

Geography

There are alleys and narrow streets. The town is bordered by Anversa degli Abruzzi

Anversa degli Abruzzi

Anversa degli Abruzzi is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy-Points of interest:* Giardino Botanico Gole del Sagittario* Botanical Garden at the Sorgenti del Cavuto...

, Barrea

Barrea

Barrea is a comune in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy.It is located on the shore of the Lake of Barrea, a lake created after World War II due to the building of a dam on the River Sangro.-History:...

, Bisegna

Bisegna

Bisegna is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....

, Bugnara

Bugnara

Bugnara is a comune and village of 1,193 people in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy , an association that notes small Italian towns of strong artistic and historical interest.-Geography:Coming from the direction of the...

, Civitella Alfedena

Civitella Alfedena

Civitella Alfedena is a small town and comune in the province of L'Aquila . It is located in the heart of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise.- Main sights:...

, Introdacqua

Introdacqua

Introdacqua is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...

, Opi, Pescasseroli

Pescasseroli

Pescasseroli is a town and comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Southern Abruzzo, central Italy.A summer and winter resort, it is today the headquarters of the Abruzzo National Park. It is located in the heart of the Monti Marsicani....

, Pettorano sul Gizio

Pettorano sul Gizio

Pettorano sul Gizio is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...

, Rivisondoli

Rivisondoli

Rivisondoli is a village and comune in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a ski resort.-Geography:The village is placed in the plateau of Cinque Miglia and extended on the flank of Monte Calvario.-History:...

, Rocca Pia

Rocca Pia

Rocca Pia is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. His territory extended up to the level of Cinquemiglia...

, Villalago

Villalago

Villalago is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....

 and Villetta Barrea

Villetta Barrea

Villetta Barrea is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...

.

History

Situated in the Sagittario Valley and encircled by the Majella

Majella

The Maiella is a massif in the Central Apennines, in Abruzzo, central Italy, at the boundary between the provinces of Chieti, Pescara and L'Aquila....

 mountains Scanno has been immortalised by photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...

 (1951) and Mario Giacomelli

Mario Giacomelli

Mario Giacomelli was an Italian photographer born on 1 August 1925 in Senigallia, Italy. He died on 25 November 2000 in the town of his birth.Known for:Photographs of Italian seminaries and a poetic transcription of everyday life in Southern Italy...

 (1957-1959) and, according to Edward Lear

Edward Lear

Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...

, was host to Italy’s most beautiful women (Illustrated excursions in Italy by Lear, Edward, 1846).
Local legend has it that Scanno’s natural lake (Lago di Scanno

Lago di Scanno

- References :...

 - stocked with pike and perch and 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...

’s largest natural basin) was created by a feud between a white witch and a sorcerer; the lake marking the spot where the witch finally fell.
For a brief period during World War II, former Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...

was a refugee in the town.