L'Aquila Events

The L'Aquila calendar is anchored by one of the oldest continuous religious observances in Europe.

La Perdonanza Celestiniana

On 28 and 29 August, the Bull of Celestine V is carried from the city to Collemaggio in a costumed procession, and the basilica's Holy Door is opened for twenty-four hours, granting the indulgence he established in 1294. It predates the Roman Jubilee, it has been held annually for over seven centuries, and UNESCO inscribed it as intangible cultural heritage in 2019. It continued through the years when the basilica was a ruin.

The mountain seasons

Ski season at Campo Imperatore from roughly December to March, and walking from June to October, with the plateau at its best in early summer.

Saffron

The Navelli plain harvests in late October, entirely by hand, over a few weeks. The villages run small festivals around it, and Navelli saffron carries its own protected designation: it takes tens of thousands of flowers to make a single kilo of spice.

The bell and the anniversary

The civic tower rings ninety-nine strokes each evening, one for each of the founding castles, and has done so for centuries. On 6 April the city marks the anniversary of the earthquake with a night-time torchlit procession and the reading of the 309 names. It is not a visitor event and should not be treated as one.

Summer in the centre

Concerts and open-air events in the restored squares through July and August — modest by design, and a deliberate reoccupation of spaces that were sealed off for years.