Avezzano

Avezzano  listen  (Italian pronunciation: [avetˈtsaːno] or [avedˈdzaːno]) is a city and comune with a population of 42,491 inhabitants, situated in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila. It is the second most populous province and the sixth in the region. Documented as an existing urban center in the ninth century. The city was destroyed by the earthquake of 1915. It was rebuilt again after the 1944 Allied bombing. The city was decorated with the silver medal for civil merit, an award granted by the Italian Republic.

It is the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the Marsica area, with important high-tech industries and a large Telespazio satellite farm.

History

Toponymy

There are different common etymologies for the name of the city: from "Ad Vetianum" which means a "to the Vetia family"; from "Avidianum" or "fundus Avidianus" which is derived from the noble Avidius domiciled in the nearby town of Alba Fucens or from "Ave Jane", an invocation to the roman god Janus.