Any visitor coming to Marsica begins his touristic journey from Avezzano, the capital of the territory and an important cultural center.

 

From here it is possible to leave for the many artistic and historical paths that Marsica offers. You can in fact go to admire the archaeological Roman site of Alba Fucens and, still in the same place, the site of the medieval village destroyed by the 1915 earthquake with its castle and the splendid early medieval church of San Pietro. In addition to this, we find several minor archaeological sites of ancient Romans, such as Marruvium situated in the town of San Benedetto dei Marsi, or Carsioli situated in the village of Civita d’Oricola.

 

There are also numerous archaeological sites belonging to ancient Marsi, such as Amplero near Collelongo, Milonia, an ancient marsa city noticeable by the numerous remains of walls and located in the municipality of Ortona dei Marsi, and Luco dei Marsi, with the remains of the sanctuary of Angizia.

 

Certainly, however, of all the archaeological sites present in Marsica, the most important of all, even more than Alba Fucens, is the archaeological site of the Cunicoli di Claudio (“Tunnels of Claudius”), an ancient hydraulic pipeline built by the emperor Claudius and completed by his successors Trajan and Hadrian, which was used to lower the level of the ancient Fucino lake. This was undoubtedly one of the most important engineering works of ancient Rome.

 

Definitely worth seeing is Celano with its marvelous castle (the most important in Marsica) and the numerous churches of the village, all of medieval and Renaissance origin. Beyond Celano, Tagliacozzo certainly deserves a visit, with its historic center representing the history of Marsica itself, since several ages are present, from the early medieval age with its prestigious military fortress on Mount Civita, to the Renaissance one represented by the Palace Ducale, artistic jewel of the town, to the Piazza dell’Obelisco where all the ancient aristocratic buildings of the town are concentrated.

 

At the cultural level, there are many museums in Marsica, starting with the museums of Celano, that is the Museum of Marsica Sacred Art, situated in the Orsini castle and the Paludi di Celano Museum, just outside the town. Continuing we find the museums connected to the ancient Marsi civilization, located in Collelongo and Civita d’Antino.

 

Among the visits to be made in Marsica one certainly cannot miss that to Telespazio, the great space center of Fucino and the largest teleport in the world for civil uses. Telespazio represents the industrial avant-garde of the whole Marsica with its presence.

 

Speaking of space, not far from Talespazio there is the ancient village of Aielli, where the Marsica astronomical observatory is located. Here, at the ancient medieval tower of the town, recently renovated, a first-rate astronomical observatory was born, which completes the tourist offer for astronomy enthusiasts.

 

For those who are fans of towers, castles and noble palaces, Marsica is certainly in the first places. There are many castles in the area, built above all by the ancient Berardi family, the Lords of these lands in the Middle Ages, perfectly preserved starting with the castles of Celano, Balsorano, Pereto, Morrea, and Oricola. Among the many Renaissance dwellings we mention the Ducal Palace of Tagliacozzo which belonged to the Orsini and Colonna and for centuries the political heart of the duchy of Tagliacozzo.

 

Marsica also means religious tourism, and for many here there is a wide range of choices, ranging from numerous medieval churches, such as in Magliano or Tagliacozzo, to baroque churches, such as in Ortona dei Marsi or Scurcola Marsicana, to the Franciscan convents in Tagliacozzo, Carsoli and Celano, to the numerous Marian sanctuaries such as those of the Madonna di Pietraquaria in Avezzano, the Madonna of the Orient in Tagliacozzo, or the Madonna dei Bisognosi in Pereto.