Tree-lined boulevards near the railway station suggest an elegance which the town does not sustain. An earthquake destroyed Avezzano in 1915 and the place was hastily rebuilt. The great lake of Fucino on its doorstep was dried out last century for cultivation and is now the Plain (Piano) of Fucino, 60 km round, like a fancy chess-board with parallelograms of crops edged with spiky poplars. There are said to be 782 km of small canals. The original lake outlet can be seen at the Incile buildings, 5 km south on Highway 82.