Villalago is an ancient fortified village of extraordinary beauty - figure in the prestigious club of "The most beautiful villages in Italy" - located on top of Mount Argoneta, between the fascinating artificial lake of S. Domenico and the wonderful natural lake of Scanno. .

The current historic center, arranged as an amphitheater on the eastern side of Mount Argatone is characterized by striking walls with steps, narrow alleys and scenic squares. The portals, the staircases, the ancient stone houses, create magical atmospheres. Inside the nucleus you can visit the Medieval Tower, the old Town Hall, the church of Our Lady of Sorrows, the parish church, the church of San Michele and the Hermitage of San Domenico. The high Valley of Sagittarius, in which Villalago is the ideal geographical center, is characterized by a continuous alternation of mountain ridges and deep valleys with large plateaus and valleys, with an interesting morphological variety and is perched between two lakes, That of Scanno and that of San Domenico. The most classic of the mountain itineraries is the one that leads to Monte Argatone. From the top you can enjoy an exceptional view of both the town and the Marsica and the Abruzzo National Park.

A rich program of cultural events and shows makes a pleasant stay in Villalago. In addition to the many festivals dedicated to San Domenico and other saints, remember the event August villalaghese, concerts, theater performances, exhibitions to participate in between an excursion and the other on the massif of the Montagna Grande or the nearby Gran Sasso. The initiatives combined with the extraordinary vocation of this country, serve to make this environment truly enjoyable and ready to welcome visitors to the fullest, preparing them to live a fascinating holiday face to face with nature.

Civil and religious architecture

• Hermitage of San Domenico: it was built at the lake of San Domenico in the eleventh century, as a votive chapel near a natural cave considered sacred. The current church has an eighteenth-century appearance, a hut where you access from a grotesque portal of the eighteenth century, with panels of the miracle of the saint against the wolf, the work of Alfredo Gentile. The interior is fluctuating between the baroque and the neo-Gothic, with a wooden statue of San Domenico, and at the base of the altar the stucco frontal of 1761. From an access behind the altar you enter the cave where the saint lived.

• Parish church of the Madonna di Loreto: dating back to the fourteenth century, and later modified in the interiors in the seventeenth century. The façade is in late Romanesque, with the round portal decorated with strombature and a fresco on the lunette. In the nave stand statues of Saint Michael the Archangel and Our Lady of the Rosary. The lower altar is decorated in San Domenico, where there is a piece of his wooden bed. • Church of Our Lady of Sorrows: once a private chapel of the Palazzo Lupi, it was consecrated around 1652. The interior is square in marble baroque stucco.

• Church of San Michele Arcangelo: important historical church. Built in the eleventh century by the Lombards in Romanesque style; above the rectangular portal there is a lunette with Christ Pantocrator reading the "Book of Life"

• Church of the Madonna delle Grazie, in classic country style, with a single nave, commonly called "Santa Maria", located about 100 m from Piazza Celestino Lupi, is of ancient origins, probably dating back to the year 1000, as the grange Santa Maria della Villa, of the Monastery of San Pietro de Lacu, established by San Domenico Abate, took its name from this small church. The present structure could be dated to 1575, date engraved on the portal. Cleaned and enriched in 1999 by the cultural association "L'Atelier del Sagittario", preserves the image of the Madonna delle Grazie that is carried in procession during the festival that takes place in July.

• The old town hall: it was built in the nineteenth century above the church of San Giovanni, as seen from the main tower, obtained from the bell tower. The interior is alternated between baroque and twentieth-century style. In 2003, the new town hall was built and the Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions of Villalago was inaugurated in the old building. The structure is rectangular with the clock tower.

• Water mill with adjoining Gualchiera: country house with bas-reliefs of mules with loads on the back, located in Fontevecchia. Inside there is a historic fulling mill, used for the wool factory. The fortress with the annexed belvedere on the Gorges of Sagittarius. It is located in the upper part of the center, built around the 11th century, although it is assumed that it already existed before. The main tower has a cylindrical plan, set in a noble palace that in the past was the castle. There is also an oratory dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows. A second tower is that of Liberty, always of medieval origin, incorporated in civil houses. It has a circular plan with a shoe base. Museums and nature reserves

• The Museum of Arts and Folk Traditions: is located in the old town hall, characterized by the exhibition of original materials for the processing of the land.

• Lake Scanno: natural lake at 922 m s.l.m. between the Marsicani Mountains. It has the shape of the heart. Natural species include Phragmiteum communis, marsh straw, willows and poplars. At the lake there is also a small hermitage in neo-Gothic style, the Church of the Madonna del Lago.

• The Regional Nature Reserve Lake San Domenico and Lake Pio is located in the municipality of Villalago, in the province of L'Aquila. The protected area, established by the L.R. Nº 6 of 2005, consists of two distinct areas: the largest of about 53 hectares includes the artificial basin of Lake San Domenico and part of the surrounding territories; the second area of 7 ha includes Lake Pio, located in the ancient fortified village of Villalago, built on top of Mount Argoneta.

• Lake Pio: lake of karst origin, with emissions from Lake Scanno.

• Lake San Domenico: artificial lake of 1929, with river tributary the Sagittarius. Characteristic flora of the Abruzzo National Park, foxes, squirrels and Marsican bears. It takes its name from the hermitage of San Domenico, which dominates a rocky spur near the lake.

• The war memorial

• The monument to the Alpine

• The Mount Argatone

• The forest arboretum

• The Sagittarius Gorges: The morphology is given by the erosion of the waters of Sagittarius. Among the fauna there are the woodpecker, the peregrine falcon, the mountain swallows and the dipper..