Pescina is a municipality in the province of L’Aquila, which stands at the entrance to the Valle del Giovenco, bordering on the municipalities of Castelvecchio Subaqueo, Celano, Collarmele, Gioia dei Marsi, Ortona dei Marsi, Ortucchio, Ovindoli. The municipality is part of the Valle del Giovenco Italian Community of which it is located. The economy of the town is mainly linked to agriculture and the more recent tourist activity which has grown a lot in recent years.

 

Pescina oggi. (Immagine personale)

 

The origins of the town are very ancient dating back to the ancient Marsi, one of the Italic peoples living in pre-Roman Italy, but the municipal area is also much older, as evidenced by the findings of traces of human settlement found, dating back as far as 18,000 years ago.

But the traces of a stable settlement typical of the structure of the town of Pescina can be ascribed to the ancient Marsi, who had set up a small fortified center here to guard the entrance to the Valle del Giovenco.

After the Marso and Roman periods passed on the same site where this first fortified center arose, the center of Pescina was established in the early Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages the town experienced a major building and demographic development, which made the village one of the main centers of the Marsica.

The symbol of medieval Pescina is its magnificent castle, the real spearhead among the Marsican manors, even more so today after its happy and recent restoration carried out between 2020 and 2022.

 

Il castello di Pescina oggi. (Immagine personale)

 

Following this strong development, the town first became the seat of a barony and then in 1580 the seat of the bishop of the Marsi, who remained here until 1924, when the seat was transferred to Avezzano, which in the meantime had become the capital of the entire Marsica.

The development of Pescina is quite constant over time and continues even in the nineteenth century after the feudal subversion of 1806. After this date, in fact, the inhabited center undergoes an increase in population after the Italian unification, which increases over the course of the end of the century.

This is due to various factors, but certainly one of the most important depends on the draining of Lake Fucino carried out by the banker Torlonia between 1854 and 1878. This, thanks to a great engineering work, creates one of the largest hydraulic enterprises in history, obtaining at the end of this work a large expanse of agricultural land, one of the largest in all of Italy, which now belongs to him.

 

La  Piana del Fucino. (Immagine personale)

 

The realization of the hydraulic work and therefore the successful drainage, as well as bringing enormous wealth to Torlonia, also brought many new workers to the Marsica to work the rich and fertile new Piana del Fucino. These people had first moved to Fucino to work on the new hydraulic company and once the work was completed, they remained here to work as farmers.

This leads as a consequence that these new workers take up residence in the towns around the Fucino plain and among the towns that see an increase in population also for this reason, there is Pescina.

 

Pescina prima del 1915.

 

In fact, Pescina went from 3500 inhabitants in 1871 to 6074 in 1911 and this increase in population led to further economic development of the town which took place between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1915, however, the great earthquake of Gioia dei Marsi occurred which proved to be highly destructive. The earthquake destroys all the villages of Marsica, including Pescina, which sees 5,000 people out of a total of 6,000 residents die in a few moments and the town is completely annihilated at the infrastructural level. It will take many decades for the country to recover from the tragedy.

 

Pescina dopo il terremoto del 1915

 

On the other hand, a seismic shock like that of Gioia dei Marsi surprised everyone, as the Fucino area had never given significant seismicity up until 1915 and at the time no one was competent in geology and knew that this area is among the most seismic events of Italy, which releases major earthquakes after a long time. At the time it was even believed that the fault of the earthquake was to be attributed to the drying up of the lake, which occurred just 40 years earlier and today we know very well that that shock originated from a slippage of the fault in a distensional sense.

However, despite the enormous tragedy, the town reacts and during the 1900s Pescina returns to being a large agricultural centre, which, following the installation of the Torano-Pescara motorway exit, sees its economy grow even more, albeit in a lower than the rest of Marsica. Following this economic development, the town invested in itself, gradually becoming a large tourist center between the end of the 1900s and the beginning of the 21st century.

Pescina has always been famous for being the birthplace of Cardinal Mazarin and the writer Ignazio Silone. The latter deeply tied to his land was one of the most important Italian writers of the ‘900, with a past also as an important politician of the Italian left. When Silone died in 1978, he left written in his will to be buried at the foot of the old bell tower of the church of San Berardo. The message he leaves as his testamentary will is at the same time a beautiful description of the country.

 

La tomba di Ignazio Silone. (Immagine personale)

 

He says: “I would like to be buried like this, at the foot of the old bell tower of San Berardo, in Pescina, with an iron cross leaning against the wall and the view of Fucino in the distance”.

These words give a precise and clear idea of both his attachment to Pescina and the beautiful panorama that can be admired from the old tower of the castle, a distinctive feature of the town.

The twilight, among the ruins of the old town destroyed by the earthquake of 1915, gives a romantic connotation to this  magical and at the same time relaxing place, where time seems to have stopped.

 

Autostrada A25 e sullo sfondo il ponte dove passano i treni in direzione Pescara. (Immagine personale)

 

Pescina is easily reachable by car via the motorway exit, it is served by trains, having its own railway station and by buses where some companies operate. The town is a perfect place to stop for a few days to savor peace and tranquility and at the same time it is an excellent starting point for discovering both the Valle del Giovenco and the Piana del Fucino. To this is added an excellent cuisine full of typical dishes, ranging from first courses to second courses up to desserts.

 

Pescina oggi. (Immagine personale)

 

Today’s Pescina has improved a lot in the quality of tourist services and is able to keep up with many other places both in Abruzzo and outside the region. Being able to spend time here can mean not only excellent food and great views, but above all being able to experience history and the future.

 

Casa Museo Giulio Mazzarino. (Immagine personale)

 

Living history can be done both by visiting its historic center and its museums and the future by taking a look at the great Telespazio center, the great scientific heart of the Marsica.

 

Il centro di Telespazio all’interno della Piana del Fucino. (Immagine personale)

 

Pescina, being in a fairly flat area, has a mild climate compared to the average of other towns in Abruzzo, with average temperatures of around 2.5 °C in the coldest month (January) and around 22 °C in the hottest month (July). 9°C. Precipitation is relatively abundant (about 820 mm per year) and mainly concentrated in late autumn and in winter, snow almost always falls abundantly.

 

Pescina vista dall’alto con lo sfondo della Piana del Fucino. (Immagine personale)

 

Pescina is today a large tourist center that offers a lot to its visitors both on a cultural and environmental level. Over time, the town has also improved a lot in terms of hospitality and entertainment, managing to organize large cultural and recreational events that attract many people.

At the same time we must not forget the cuisine which today is becoming a valid tourist attraction not only for the goodness of the Marsican cuisine, already well known both locally and internationally, but above all for its fruit and vegetables, which are a true agricultural excellence to be proud of and which are the basis of the magnificent dishes that we then taste in the various restaurants in the area and in Marsica in general. In short, an ideal place to recharge your batteries and get off to a great start.

Furthermore, in the Marsica there is not only the Piana del Fucino as a fruit and vegetable area of excellence, as its varied landscape allows you to have other products. In other words, the Marsica being a very large area is divided into various sub-zones and each of them boasts of its fruit and vegetable specialties.

 

Alberi di mela della Valle del Giovenco. (Immagine personale)

 

For example, Valle del Giovenco is very famous for the production of apples and honey, both products that have obtained many quality awards over time. Therefore, as we have been able to see in this brief dissertation, Pescina offers a lot, it is an ideal place to restore strength and start off again.

So come to Pescina what are you waiting for!!!