We present the first GPS estimate of crustal extension in the central Apennines (Italy) through the analysis of the deformation of a sub-network of the National GPS Geodetic network IGM95 in the interval 1994--1999. The selected sub-network spans the entire active deformation belt perpendicularly to its axis and allows the evaluation of (1) the total extension rate absorbed in this sector of the Apennines and (2) the seismogenic potential of the normal faults active in the Late Pleistocene-Holocene interval within the network. Results of this reoccupation are consistent with an extensional strain rate of 0.18¿10-6 yr-1 concentrated in an area of about 35 km width, giving an average extension rate of 6¿2 mm/yr across the central Apennines. The pattern of active deformation suggests active elastic strain accumulation on the westernmost of the two fault systems active in the Late Pleistocene-Holocene interval and may also suggest the presence of another active fault system not recognized so far. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union