Madonna di Roio

Roio is a district of the city of L’Aquila, located about 7 kilometers away, but in the past it was an independent municipality. It was one of the traditional 99 castles that helped form the ancient city. Roio is made up of four settlements or villages, arranged in an amphitheater-like layout around a wide basin—likely the bed of a prehistoric lake: Roio Piano, Santa Rufina, Colle di Roio, and Poggio di Roio, the last of which climbs up a hill crowned by the charming Sanctuary of the Madonna della Croce.