L'Aquila

Italy

Twin city
Italy National Platform
Population 70k
City Area 473 km²
City active since December 2023

L’Aquila is a mountain city in central Italy, shaped as much by its geography as by its recent history. Located in the Apennines at high altitude, it experiences cold winters, hot summers and growing exposure to extreme weather. But climate action in L’Aquila cannot be separated from resilience: the city is still defined by the experience of the 2009 earthquake and the long reconstruction that followed.

Rebuilding has forced L’Aquila to rethink how the city works. As homes, public buildings and infrastructure have been repaired and rebuilt, energy performance, safety and long-term sustainability have become central concerns. Climate action here is less about starting from scratch and more about doing things better the second time around.

The city’s climate priorities focus on reducing emissions from buildings and mobility, expanding renewable energy and strengthening adaptation to environmental risks. Reconstruction has opened space for innovation, allowing climate goals to be embedded directly into urban regeneration, rather than treated as a separate policy layer.

L’Aquila’s approach is pragmatic and forward-looking. By aligning recovery, resilience and climate neutrality, the city is turning a period of profound disruption into a chance to build a safer, more efficient and more sustainable urban future — one that is designed to last.

Key Learnings

Latest updates from the city