Since I was a child I frequented the city of L'Aquila so my father always took me to the Basilica of San Bernardino, the church which stands right in the historic center of Aquila.
Naturally it takes its name from the homonymous saint and for me it has always been the symbol of the city of L'Aquila.
The history of this church is naturally linked to San Bernardino who had decided to spread the evangelical teachings but was struck by a serious illness that led to his death here in Aquila and tradition says that his body favored a series of miracles.
This is why the local people care a lot about this saint and he is often venerated to ask for thanks or to be Helped to deal with life's problems.
What has always struck me about this Basilica is the interior because in my opinion it is wonderful with this precious eighteenth-century coffered ceiling all gilded and with these beautiful paintings that can be admired here in the photo I took several months ago.
I have seen this ceiling several times but each time it impresses me as if it were the first.
However, I think that the strong point of the whole basilica is the Mausoleum of San Bernardino, still built at the end of the 1500s, luckily the earthquake that took place here in 2009 did not damage the basilica so much it was only partially affected and thanks to the meticulous I restore the damages already in 2015 were repaired and then fortunately it is back to its former glory.