FACTBOX: Italian region has history of quakes

(Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck the central Italian region of Abruzzo on Monday, killing at least 40 people.

Following are some facts on Abruzzo.

* Lying on the eastern side of central Italy, the rugged region is on the Adriatic coastline. Abruzzo is home to about 1.3 million people and has had many earthquakes over the centuries.

* Two-thirds of its 11,000 sq km (4,247 sq mile) is covered with mountains, and a sloping plain stretches to its 130 km (80 miles) sandy coastline.

* The Apennine Mountains run through Abruzzo, with the 2,914 m (9,560 ft) peak of Corno Grande towering over the regional capital L'Aquila.

* Ancient Abruzzo was famed for its witches, wizards and snake-charmers, members of a tribe known as the Marsi. In the annual Snake-Charmers Procession in the mountain village of Cocullo, a statue of San Domenico is covered in live snakes.

* The medieval walled city of L'Aquila, whose name means "the Eagle," has a population of about 68,000. Much of the city was severely damaged in a 1703 earthquake, including churches, squares and the medieval cathedral. * Abruzzo has the highest GDP per capita in southern Italy. Mechanical engineering, transport equipment and telecommunications are all well established.

* It is dotted with well preserved medieval and Renaissance hill towns but has avoided the tourist development of regions like Tuscany.