On the occasion of the European Heritage Days on September 24th and 25th, the National Museum of Abruzzo is offering the opportunity to visit the Castle of L’Aquila from a very special perspective: the system of countermine tunnels.
This system, located within the castle’s foundations and extending along the entire perimeter of the curtain walls and bastions, made it possible to intercept underground mine tunnels dug by the enemy.
Visitors will be guided through a fascinating itinerary consisting of small rooms and tunnels just under 1 m wide and just over 2 m high, winding along the perimeter of the eastern bastion.
Passing past the numerous slits that allowed visual and acoustic monitoring of the tunnels, visitors will relive the experience of the soldiers who patrolled the countermines by torchlight, silently listening to the walls in anticipation of an underground attack.
The tours will be led by students of the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila, specially trained by scholars of the Castle, thanks to an agreement with the National Museum of Abruzzo.
