Likely abandoned by the second century BC, it was reestablished in Roman times as the small village of Castrum Asserici, to provide accommodation to workers of nearby mines.

In 1927, several municipalities were forcefully dissolved and merged to form the Grande Aquila, in order to increase the importance of L'Aquila in the region.

In 1934, the town of Fonte Cerreto was built slightly above the center of Assergi around the base of the Funivia del Gran Sasso d'Italia, a cable car leading to the Campo Imperatore.

It is linked to various nearby villages, including Calascio, Castel del Monte e Santo Stefano di Sessanio, as well as the plain of Campo Imperatore by numerous trails that can be covered on foot, mountain bike, or horseback.

The Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta is a church built in the 12th century, originally part of a larger monastery founded by Saint Equizio.

The 15th-century facade, in the Romanesque style, is similar to that of the nearby church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, and bears the emblem of the region.

With an elegant cloister with frescos of the scenes of the life of St. Bernardino of Siena, the building houses a permanent archaeological exhibition of the artifacts from the nearby Male Cave.

Fonte Cerreto contains the Funivia del Gran Sasso d'Italia cable car, one of the longest in Europe, which provides access within minutes to the Campo Imperatore, where there are various skiing facilities and a resort.

Fonte Cerreto, which includes several restaurants and hotels, is a gateway to the national park and is the base of several hiking and ski mountaineering trails that end at the Campo Imperatore.