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An analysis of the geomagnetic field variations between 3 min and 2 h at L'Aquila (<i>L</i>=1.6) shows that the power level in the low-frequency range (i.e. for periods longer than approximately 10 min) at solar maximum (1989/90) is much higher than at solar minimum (1985/86). Conversely, at solar minimum, it emerges that there is a greater relative importance of fluctuations with periods smaller than 10 min which might be related to the greater percentage of solar wind speeds greater than approximately 540 km s^–1. Diurnal, seasonal and solar cycle variations of both the high- and the low-frequency power are also discussed. We found that several aspects of these variations might be correlated with ionospheric features such as the ionisation of the <i>F</i>2 layer and the location and the intensity of the <i>S</i> current system.