Ogni anno il Ministero della Cultura assegna a una città italiana il titolo di European Capital of Culture. Italian Capital of Culture, a recognition born to enhance the cultural, artistic and social heritage of the territories and to stimulate projects capable of generating development, participation and future vision.
The title is not merely symbolic: it involves investments, widespread planning, new networks between institutions and communities, and a cultural programme that accompanies the city throughout the year, making it a laboratory for territorial innovation.
This recognition is often compared to, better aligned with, and inspired by European Capital of Culture, an initiative of the European Union active since 1985, which has seen cities such as Matera in 2019, Marseille in 2013, Liverpool in 2008.
While the European title has an international dimension and aims to build dialogue between cultures on the continent, the Italian title operates on a national scale but with a strong regional and local impact, often becoming an opportunity to rethink identity, the most immaterial rather than material infrastructure of a city and its role in the country’s cultural and tourism system.
In 2026 this title goes to L'Aquila, and it's not just a symbolic choice: it's a profoundly political, social, cultural, and territorial choice.
Why L'Aquila is Italian Capital of Culture 2026
L'Aquila's application impressed the committee for several reasons, linked not only to the city's historical heritage but above all to its ability to transform memory into a project, and to also be a city-territory with a constellation of micro-territories and communities that are widespread yet close.
L'Aquila is a city that still bears the visible scars of the 2009 earthquake, but it is also a place that in recent years has managed to transform reconstruction into an opportunity for urban, cultural, and social regeneration.
Their candidacy has focused on some key themes:
- the Culture as a tool for rebirth and social cohesion
- the relationship between cities and their surrounding mountain territories
- The role of local communities in building cultural identity
- the ability to connect historical heritage, landscape, and contemporaneity
L'Aquila, in fact, is not just an urban centre: it is a gateway to a vast and complex territory, made up of towns, Apennine landscapes, traditions, local economies and resilient communities.
The cultural project accompanying 2026 focuses precisely on this territorial dimension: not an isolated capital, but a city that becomes a hub of a widespread cultural network, in which the Gran Sasso, the surrounding villages, and the local communities become protagonists of a collective narrative.
And it is precisely in this context that Il Bosso's new proposals for 2026 are included.
The Box Tree and the story of the territories through life stories, thus giving birth to Inspirational Tours
For years, Il Bosso has been working to build tourism that generates value for the territories, for the communities, and for travellers.
2026 represents a special year: alongside the already established experiences, a new proposal dedicated to the discovery of L'Aquila and its territory is born, with a formula that we have called Inspirational Tours.
These tours are not simple guided visits.
These are paths designed to create connections, encounters, and awareness.
During these experiences, a visit to the city of L'Aquila is complemented by an in-depth look at the Gran Sasso territory, through the Paesi Narranti del Gran Sasso, the new integrated tourist destination born in 2025.
This project connects countries, communities, operators, and cultural heritage to build a shared and coordinated tourism offering, capable of presenting the territory not as a sum of places but as a living system.
Supporting this new destination, a Tourist portal dedicated, conceived as a tool for promotion, storytelling, and connection between visitors, operators, and local communities.
Il Bosso, the creator and directly involved in this journey, therefore proposes experiences that do not merely show places but tell their stories, values, and people.
Inspiring“
When we talk about Inspirational experiences, we are not referring to a simple slogan.
For us, it means creating itineraries where travel becomes an opportunity for encounter, listening, reflection, and, of course, inspiration!
On inspirational tours, the visitor is not a spectator but a participant.
It doesn't just pass through places, but enters into a relationship with those who live there.
This means:
- Meet local residents, artisans, producers, and associations.
- listening to stories of returns, resilience, innovation and care for the land
- understanding how people live today in an Apennine village
- discover how local culture becomes a resource for the future
The journey thus becomes an experience capable of leaving something within:
new perspectives, new questions, new connections.
And that's precisely it the heart of the approach 'From Il Bosso: tourism that doesn't consume territories but values them, that doesn't observe from the outside but participates, that doesn't rush but stops and listens.'.
Not just cities: cycling routes and inspirational treks
Alongside tours dedicated to the city of L'Aquila and the Storytelling Villages of Gran Sasso, Bosso is launching two other lines of experiences in this area for 2026:
Inspirational cycling routes
Cycling routes that combine landscape, community, and storytelling of the territory.
It's not just about cycling, but about discovering the region through stops, encounters and stories that make the journey slow and mindful.
Inspirational treks
Walk through the villages, trails and landscapes of Gran Sasso, accompanied by guides and opportunities to meet local communities.
A way to experience the mountains not just as nature, but as a cultural and human space.
The first launch dates for these new activities will be free, precisely to allow as many people as possible to discover this new way of travelling.
Inspirational Activities Calendar:
• 22 March – Trek from Ofena to Villa Santa Lucia – Panoramic balconies over the Alta Valle del Tirino
• 29 March – E-bike excursion Capestrano – Ofena – Villa S. Lucia – Capestrano
• 12 April – Trekking from Carapelle Calvisio to Castelvecchio Calvisio – In the territory of the Baronia
• 19th April – E-bike excursion Navelli – Collepietro – S. Benedetto in Perillis – Navelli
• 26th April – Trek from Navelli to Collepietro on the Serra – Navelli Plateau
• 3 May – E-bike excursion Barisciano – Prata d’Ansidonia – Bominaco – Caporciano – Tussio – S. Pio delle Camere – Barisciano
A tour operator for your trip to Abruzzo
Il Bosso doesn't just offer local experiences, but also operates as a tour operator specialising in tailor-made, bespoke tours and stays.
This means we can accompany you not only on a single activity, but in the complete organisation of your trip to discover L'Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture 2026, and the whole of Abruzzo, from the mountains to the sea.
We can help you design and create:
- Themed weekends combining culture and nature
- Slow holidays among Apennine villages and landscapes
- personalised itineraries between Gran Sasso, Maiella, the Adriatic Coast and the whole of Abruzzo
- Experiences for families, solo travellers, holiday groups or corporate groups
2026 is the perfect year to discover L'Aquila and Abruzzo.
A year in which culture becomes an opportunity for meeting, travelling, discovery, and sharing.
And we are ready to accompany you!
Come and discover L'Aquila and Abruzzo with us
If you're looking for an authentic journey, made of places, people, and stories,
if you want to discover what it truly means to live in a territory,
if you desire an experience that will leave its mark,
2026 is the right time to set off and let yourself be inspired in Abruzzo.
Follow our social media channels to discover the schedule of activities
👉 Contact us to organise your trip at the email address info@ilbosso.com or by calling the landline number 0859090305
Come and live with us L'Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture, and the Storytelling Villages of Gran Sasso
Abruzzo awaits you.
And we are ready to tell you about it.
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