Spanish Fortress - Sixteen-century Castle
In 1534 Prince Filiberto d’Orange ordered to build the Spanish Fortress, usually called Castle, on the same place where King Ladislao in 1401 had a citadel built to punish the citizens for having attempted to revolt.
In 1843, the wood half-drawbridge was replaced by the end span of the existing bridge, in stone. The fortress, with square plan, has never been used for military intent but just as quarters for the troops. Its walls, 130 meters in length and from 5 to 10 meters in width, have mighty corner bastions. The castle is enclosed by a deep moat (14 meters) and is 30 meters high above ground, even if a part of it develops below the ground with underground communication trenches and tunnels.
Currently the National Museum of Abruzzo is located within the castle. In the bastion on the right of the doorway is a mammoth’s skeleton, found in the environs of the city in 1954.

Fountain of 99 Jets
The 99 Fountain of 99 Jets, known as Fountain of the Rivera, was at first built for two sides in 1272 according to the will of Governor Lucchesino Aleta, in order to evoke the number of castles in the Aquilan Valley which contributed to the foundation of the city. The job was commissioned to master Tancredi from Pentima. In 1582 the third side was built following the design of Alexander Ciccorone.
The wall around the fountain, with white and rose-coloured stones, dates back to the 15th century. Currently the Fountain appears with a checkered white and rose-coloured wall and 99 jets, 93 of which come out from the mouths of big stone masks (men, women, satyrs, warriors and animals), which pour water in the underlying wash basin. Indeed 6 tabs were added lately. The originality of this fountain is the fact that the source of water supplying it is still unknown.




The walls and the gates
The walls around L’Aquila were completed in 1316. Made of white stone, they are 2 metres thick and 4,8 kilometres long. 86 embattled towers, dominated by the “Torre Civica” (Town Tower), stood along the course and 17 gates opened towards the surrounding area, integral part of the city. During the centuries many gates were walled up, until only four of them were left open, one for each quarter: Porta Barete for S. Pietro, Porta Bazzano for the present Santa Giusta, Porta Rivera for S. Giovanni and Porta Paganica for S. Maria Paganica.

The gates in use today are:
- Porta Branconia, along Viale Duca degli Abruzzi, near Piazza S. Silvestro, recently restored;
- Porta Rivera, rebuilt after the earthquake in 1703 and situated in an archeologically extremely interesting area, where the walls lay on an older wainscot than the city;
- Porta Roiana, recently renovated, near S. Maria del Borgo or delle Buone Novelle;
- Porta Napoli, called at the beginning Porta S. Ferdinando;
- Porta Bazzano, whose existence was already certified in 1400, which was anyhow rebuilt after the earthquake in 1703 and lately restored;
- Porta Leone, near the Basilica of S. Bernardino, whose name derives from the royal captain Leone di Cicco da Cascia, superintendent of the fortification works;
- Porta Castello, near the Spanish Fortress, dating from the XVI century, rebuilt in 1769.




The Floodlit Fountain
Situated in Piazza Battaglione degli Alpini, the Floodlit Fountain was built by the sculptor Nicola D’Antino in 1934. It is composed of a marble structure dominated by two bronze female nudes holding the typical copper vessel of Abruzzo. The name of the fountain derives from the charming play of lights it offers at night and in winter too, when it is covered by a thick film of ice. The monument has been recently restored.

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