There are two tunnels, each with two lanes for each direction, 10,176 metres long, that also host the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. Construction started on November 14, 1968. The eastbound tunnel (to Teramo) opened on December 1, 1984 while the westbound tunnel (to L'Aquila) opened in 1995.
It is the third longest road tunnel in Italy, after the Fréjus and Monte Bianco tunnels, and the longest road tunnel entirely on Italian territory.
The highway over the mountain, which now sees little traffic, has been renamed the Grand Highway of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park to highlight its status as a scenic route.
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Abruzzo, historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. Since 2000 the Environment Ministry of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has been defining the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, for a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas.
L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. As of 2023, it has a population of 69,558 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains, with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east.
Gran Sasso d'Italia is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande, is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies within Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
The Province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It has borders with the provinces of Teramo to the north, Pescara and Chieti to the east, Isernia to the south and Frosinone, Rome and Rieti to the west. Its capital is the city of L'Aquila.
The Province of Teramo is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Teramo. The province has an area of 1,948 square kilometres (752 sq mi), a population of 313,029 (2012), and is subdivided into 47 comunes, see Comunes of the Province of Teramo. The Province of Teramo shares its northern border with the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche Region, southern and southwestern borders with the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo Region, and a western border with the Province of Rieti in the Region of Lazio. To the south is the Abruzzo Province of Pescara and to the east is the Adriatic Sea.
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is the largest underground research center in the world. Situated below Gran Sasso mountain in Italy, it is well known for particle physics research by the INFN. In addition to a surface portion of the laboratory, there are extensive underground facilities beneath the mountain. The nearest towns are L'Aquila and Teramo. The facility is located about 120 km from Rome.
Monti della Laga is a mountain range in the central Apennines of Italy. Their ruggedness and inaccessibility makes them one of the lesser known areas of the Italian peninsula.
Campotosto is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. Olympian Mariano Antonelli was born here.
Civitella Casanova is an Italian town of inland mountain of 1,950 inhabitants in the province of Pescara in Abruzzo and belongs to the mountain community Vestina. Listed on the National Park of Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga and the Regional Reserve Voltigno and Valle d'Angri, a regional reserve included in the National Park, the country bases its economy mainly on agriculture. It has pre-Roman origins of repute, the sources of the historian Livy emerges as the town of Civitella was called Cutina or Cingilia.
Crognaleto is a comune and city of slightly less than 2,000 people in the Province of Teramo, central Italy. Crognaleto sits at an elevation of 1,105 metres (3,625 ft) and has its communal administrative offices in the frazione of Nerito. The commune of Crognaleto sits on the slopes of the Monti della Laga mountain range and extends across both the northern and the southern slopes of the Vomano Valley. It lies within the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
Collevecchio is a small village in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Montorio al Vomano.
The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in central Italy. Established in 1991, it covers an area of 2,014 square kilometres (778 sq mi), mostly within the provinces of Teramo, L'Aquila, and Pescara in Abruzzo, with small areas in the provinces of Rieti in Lazio and Ascoli Piceno in Marche. The terrain is predominantly mountainous with alpine plains.
The Capannelle Pass is a mountain pass in Italy. It sits at an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level in the Province of L'Aquila in Italy's Abruzzo Region. It is located on the Italian State Highway 80 which passes near the Gran Sasso in the Apennines.
Cona is a quarter of Teramo, central Italy. It takes its name from the presence of the local church, Madonna della Cona. The Madonna della Cona is a religious symbol of abundance and fertility with a festival the first Sunday in September that is celebrated in her honor.
The Autostrada A24, or Autostrada dei Parchi, is a motorway connecting Rome to Teramo. Starting at the Grande Raccordo Anulare, the A24 runs broadly north-east past L'Aquila and through a 10 km tunnel under the Gran Sasso before reaching Teramo. Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. currently manages the route.
Castagneto is a frazione of the Italian city of Teramo. It is located approximately four miles from Teramo at the base of a mountain sub-range known as Monti della Laga. Nearby is a state highway, SP 50, which leads to the nearby village of Ioanella. There is historical evidence of the village dating back at least one millennium. Most of this evidence is contained in the records of the local church, Santa Maria de Praediis.
Monte Camicia is a mountain straddling the border between the province of Teramo and the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is part of the Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain chain.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo, a region of Italy.
Assergi is a frazione of the comune of L'Aquila, located about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the capital. With a population of just over 500, it is situated at an altitude of approximately 1,000 meters, below the western slope of the Gran Sasso in a small plain called the Piana di Assergi (Plain of Assergi). Assergi was formerly included in the comune of Camarda, which is directly to its south.
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