Paganica, at the foot of the Gran Sasso

From Paganica the SS 17 bis climbs past Camarda and Assergi to Fonte Cerreto 1,125 m: in about 10 km you reach La Villetta and the cable car to Campo Imperatore 2,130 m. Ski in winter, set off for Corno Grande 2,912 m in summer. The Madonna d’Appari sanctuary is along the way.

• Fonte Cerreto, La Villetta and the cable car
• Skiing at Campo Imperatore
• Corno Grande by the normal route

• Madonna d’Appari sanctuary: a 14th-century chapel set into the rock along the road to Camarda, almost entirely frescoed.
• Basilica of San Giustino, at the cemetery: one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Abruzzo.
• Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Piazza Umberto I, with its 1655 façade and the balcony from which the patron saint’s relics are shown.
• Church of the Concezione, with a wavy Borromini-style façade: badly damaged in the 2009 earthquake, it was restored and reopened in July 2026.
• Santa Maria del Presepe on the castle hill, the Ducal Palace, the 14th-century Gothic house and the medieval Fontevecchia fountain.
• Villa Dragonetti de Torres, a historic residence with an Italian garden, and the farming museum with 35 old carts, open by appointment.

• San Giustino, the patron saint: on his feast day the relics are shown from the balcony of the church of Santa Maria Assunta.
• Corsa del cappello, in mid-July: a relay race in which the baton is a hat, run between teams from the four historic districts. It comes from a race once held for Saint Anthony the Abbot on 17 January.
• The Madonna d’Appari nativity scene: at Christmas, in front of the rock sanctuary.

• Horse riding: Paganica has the Saint Just riding centre, where show-jumping champion Piergiorgio Bucci began his career; ask there about rides at the foot of the Gran Sasso.
• Climbing: between Paganica and Camarda, along the SS 17 bis, there is a small crag near the Appari hermitage.
• Trekking: from Paganica to Pescomaggiore, the Vera springs at Tempera and the trails in our Gran Sasso guide.

Paganica is home to the beans that bear its name; saffron has also been grown on the plain for centuries.

• Paganica beans, Slow Food Presidium
• L’Aquila saffron PDO, also grown on the Paganica plain
• Grilled mutton
• Fregnacce from L’Aquila
• L’Aquila liver sausage

Where to eat and sleep

• La Monachina Paganica Strada Statale 17 bis, 75 · 346 665 0832
• La Villetta – Food & Drink – Rooms for Rent Fonte Cerreto (10 km) · 0862 1720042
• Hotel Cristallo Fonte Cerreto (10 km) · 0862 1720021

• By car: about 7 km from L’Aquila along the SS 17 bis, which continues to Camarda, Assergi and Fonte Cerreto.
• By bus: AMA city line M6 links the Collemaggio terminal with Paganica and the cable car base.
• By train: Paganica station on the L’Aquila–Sulmona line, along the SS 17. See also Abruzzo without a car.