Parco Archeologico di Carbonara

The Archaeological Park of Carbonara is located less than two kilometres from the centre of Aquilonia and is an important and precious testimony of the primitive urban centre of the town.

For the visitors who pass through it every day, this park looks like a "medieval Pompeii", as defined by many scholars, while for the people of Aquilonia it represents their most important symbol of historical memory of the community of Carbonara, as the town was called until 1861. 

In the Carbonara Archaeological Park, in fact, you can see the remains of the ancient city that was devastated by the 1930 earthquake. You can rediscover, for example, what used to be Piazza Municipio, with its characteristic paving, but also the Churches of S. Giovanni (Saint John) and of the Immacolata (Immaculate Conception), the magistrate's court and the prisons. 
Above all, an 18th-century Baroque fountain can be admired in the park, which is one of a kind, as it has two levels: on the first level are the three large water spouts that emerge from the carved stone front, crowned by as many vaulted niches; on the second level, the water that has flowed uninterruptedly for centuries is conveyed through a special underground channel. This fountain also features a wash house with fluted stone, which runs along two lines, where the women of Carbonara used to wash their clothes.

Vitale Palace, the future home of studies, exhibitions and cultural exchanges, and the Museum of Itinerant Cities can also be seen in the park, forming a unique cultural itinerary for visitors.

The recovery of the original urban architecture immerses visitors to the Carbonara Archaeological Park in a setting of times gone by, bringing to light the thousand-year history of the ancient community, which is now recalled in the Piazza with concerts of traditional music, theatrical and historical performances.