History
A hotel midway on the top of Campo Imperatore is where the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was imprisoned from August until September 1943 when he was freed by a Nazi commando operation. The plateau is also the site of the Campo Imperatore station of the Rome Observatory, from which the Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Objects Survey and other astronomical studies are carried out. At the southern edge of Campo Imperatore and within the bounds of the national park are three medieval hill towns once ruled by the Medicis: Calascio, which sits before the ancient fortress ruin of Rocca di Calascio, and Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Castel Del Monte.
The name Gran Sasso means "Great Stone".
In 2005, a 2424 m (7953 ft) peak previously named "The Gendarme" was renamed "John Paul II Peak" on what would have been Pope John Paul II's 85th birthday. He had visited the Gran Sasso many times, saying it reminded him of the mountains of his native Poland.
Read more about this topic: Gran Sasso D'Italia
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