Toponymy There are different common etymologies for the name of the city: from "Avidianum" or "fundus Avidianus" which is derived from the noble Avidius ("
Avidia gens") domiciled in the nearby ancient town of
Alba Fucens; from "Ad Vettianum" which means a "to the Vettia family" ("
Vettia gens") or for an unlikely hypothesis from "Ave Jane", an invocation to the Roman god
Janus.
Earliest history The presence of hunters dates back to the
palaeolithic period about 18,000 to 14,000 years ago. There are several sites that bear witness to the presence of humans in
prehistoric times, as in the Cave of Ciccio Felice located just south of Avezzano. Traces of
necropoleis dating to 8-5th centuries BC have emerged along the border between the
Aequi and
Marsi at Colle Sabulo, Cretaro-Brecciara and Valle Solegara.
Roman period Avezzano was a rural area in the
ager (state land) of Alba Fucens founded by Rome between 304-3 BC after the Roman conquest and colonisation of the territory of the
Aequi bordering that of the
Marsi. Several Roman
villas have been found in the area. The remains of the so-called Villa of Avezzano of the 2nd century BC are along the ancient
via Tiburtina Valeria. The grandiose remains of a Roman villa on terraces can be seen at
San Pelino with an aqueduct conduit upstream of the fountain with an opening on a beautiful wall in
opus isodoma. Below the spring, a long terracing wall in
opus cementicium is visible, 36 m long and preserved (for the first 8 m) to a height of 4.4 m: below is a curtain (2.60 m high) of blocks, molded in steps on the edges, in polygonal work 40 cm thick in six rows surmounted by a coating of
opus reticulatum up to 1.8 m. On the slopes is a terrace wall about 5 m high with masonry 70 cm thick. Other villas of considerable size are at nearby
Paterno, one on terraces in Panciano and another in the modern town. The first has a terrace wall in polygonal work, a conduit from a spring and a vast area of pottery fragments along the country road which joins S. Pelino Vecchio with medieval Paterno. Lower down on the
Via Valeria is the "villa of Paterno" in the
fundus Paternianus (of which there is evidence from the Middle Ages with the curtis de Paterno and its church of Sanctae Mariae in Paterniano) discovered in 1971 which included a baths with a room paved in
cocciopesto, another with a
hypocaust, while in a third the furnace was visible. The
fundus Avidianus was an estate owned by the
Avidii family as attested by local inscriptions and attributable to the II-I century BC which would have included a villa. The first major settlements in this area began after drainage of Lake Fucino by the
Tunnels of Claudius from 52 AD.
Roman villa of Avezzano The Roman
villa rustica in the locality of Macerine opened to the public in 2008. It was built in the 2nd century BC over an area of about 3,000 m2 belonging to the
ager publicus of Alba Fucens. The farm was used by the settlers primarily for agricultural crops for the needs of the colony of Alba Fucens. The colony became a thriving and populous commercial centre and was connected to the surrounding area by a road paved with cobblestones. The entrance led into the
atrium around which are rooms for the owner and servants. In the
pars fructaria were cisterns and basins in which oil and wine were collected and grapes and olives were pressed. A head of Apollo with hair of the
Apollo Belvedere type of the Vatican dates from the period following the
Social War (91–87 BC). The villa was enlarged over the centuries and enriched with private baths with hypocaust heating between the 2nd and 3rd century AD, with a mosaic floor with figurative motifs. The polychrome central panel represents the winged victory on a chariot pulled by two running horses. Inhabited until the beginning of the sixth century AD, it was probably abandoned following an earthquake that shook the whole area. Graves dating to the 5th-6th century AD have come to light again near the perimeter of the villa, containing objects used for the decoration of the deceased and for daily use.
Middle Ages In 591 in the area came under the control of
Ariulf and the
duchy of Spoleto.
Charlemagne, after the mid-700s, donated
Gastald of the Marsi and all the lands of the duchy to the
papal states. So originated the county of the Marsi. In the
Late Middle Ages the victory of
Charles of Anjou led to the destruction of
Albe and Pietraquaria whose people had sided in favor of
Conradin,
duke of Swabia, defeated after the
battle of Tagliacozzo in 1268. In the fourteenth century in Avezzano ended the process of aggregation of the various villages that make up the urban center.
Early modern In the 15th century Avezzano was under Gentile Virginio
Orsini, who built the castle in 1490. In the fifteenth century occurred the victory of the
Colonna family over Orsini. Their lordship lasted about three centuries. The castle of Avezzano in 1565 was expanded by
Marcantonio Colonna and was later converted into a fortified palace.
Late modern and contemporary Avezzano once lay on the shores of the largest lake in peninsular Italy,
Lake Fucino, which was drained in the late 19th century. After the draining of the lake, wide fields became available for cultivation and the area underwent terrific growth. It was completely destroyed by one of the worst recorded
earthquakes in the history of Italy on the early morning of January 13, 1915, with only Palazzi's house and a wing of Orsini-Colonna castle spared. More than 30,000 people died. The town streets were then completely rebuilt along straight, parallel lines, with wide green areas and villas in the
Liberty style. During World War I and World War II, a
concentration camp was located near the city, where foreign war prisoners were interned. During World War II, Avezzano was liberated by elements of the New Zealand Army (2nd New Zealand Division) on 10 June 1944. ==Geography==