The stone village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio below the Gran Sasso
Foglio HPart. 896Scala 1:2000
L'Aquila, Abruzzo

Santo Stefano di Sessanio

The 2009 earthquake brought down the Medici tower. Twelve years later it reopened after a reconstruction that reused recovered stone.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Abruzzo. Ra Boe / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. Cropped for layout.

Residents
102
Region
Abruzzo
Best time
June to September. The lentil festival is normally held around the first weekend of September, but confirm the current municipal or regional calendar.

Why it is worth the drive

The 2009 earthquake almost completely destroyed Santo Stefano di Sessanio's Medici tower. The restoration reused recovered stone and original proportions, was completed after twelve years and formally reopened on 8 October 2021.

The village's Medici period was tied to the trade in carfagna, a rough black wool produced here and worked in Florence. The other durable local product is a tiny dark lentil grown between 1,150 and 1,600 metres across five Gran Sasso municipalities and protected as a Slow Food Presidium.

Getting there

Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 180 kilometres by road. Rail does not reach the village; the final mountain section is by road from the L'Aquila area.

The honest part

This is a high-altitude municipality with just over a hundred residents, so services and opening arrangements are limited and can change. The municipality tendered the tower's management again in June 2026; verify access directly before travelling.

SourcesIstat · Dipartimento Casa Italia, Presidenza del Consiglio · Regione Abruzzo · Comune di Santo Stefano di Sessanio6
  • Istat · 1 January 2026 (provisional)

    Evidence note. Italy, Sourced uses the municipality-level total in Istat's provisional 2026 population dataset.

  • Dipartimento Casa Italia, Presidenza del Consiglio · 8 October 2021

    Evidence note. The government records the tower's formal reopening after restoration following the 2009 earthquake.

  • Regione Abruzzo · updated 2 May 2024

    Evidence note. The regional authority describes the near-total destruction, reuse of recovered material and twelve-year reconstruction.

  • Regione Abruzzo · accessed 13 September 2026

    Evidence note. The regional tourism page links the village's Medici period to the carfagna wool trade.

  • Regione Abruzzo · accessed 13 September 2026

    Evidence note. The regional page identifies the Slow Food Presidium, production area and high-altitude growing range.

  • Comune di Santo Stefano di Sessanio · 9 June 2026

    Evidence note. The municipal tender shows why tower access and operating details must be reconfirmed rather than treated as fixed.

Last checked 2026-09-13. Opening hours and festival dates change: confirm with the town before you travel.