Early History:
Although archaeology and literature provide intriguing clues to the events from the Xth to Vth century BC, the rise of ancient Rome provides certainty to the earlier existence of Sermoneta, then known as Sulmo. Virgil mentions Sulmono, presumed to be Sulmo, in his Aeniad; Pliny describes Sulmo, along with Norba (Norma) and Setia (Sezze) as fighting against Rome, and Livy avers that Sermoneta was the last town to surrender in the ultimate Roman domination of the Latins. Ruins of pagan temples (see Santa Emerenziana) and a villa have confirmed habitation during the Roman period, when Sermoneta’s position overlooking the Appian Way gave it a strategic importance. This importance was enhanced during periods when the Appian Way was flooded and impassable, as one of the oldest roads in the world runs below Sermoneta’s hill, a few meters above the plain.
Still, it is during medieval times that Sermoneta truly flourished, and the perspective of the town visible today was established.
Medieval Period:
In the XIIth century the Annibaldi built a castle there, and the two towers standing today attest to its size (the taller “Mantower” is 150 feet high). In 1276 the castle was bought for 140,000 gold florins, along with the town of Bassiano, by Pietro Caetani, “nephew” of Pope Boniface VIII. The Caetanis expanded the property significantly in the XIIIth century, which is when the castle’s impressive “Hall of the Barons”, 72 feet long, was built. In the XVth century, Cesari Borgia, a notable enemy of the Caetanis (Pope Alessandro VI Borgia had poisoned two Caetanis already), besieged and won the property. The Borgias reinforced the castle so that it became the most formidable fortress in the entire region, second only to Rome’s Castel San Angelo, once Hadrian’s tomb. The Borgias possessed the castle only five years, but made a significant impression on it. Its towers and bridges and staircases and elegant mullioned windows were now accompanied by thicker walls and semi-cylindrical tower
Later History:
Onorato IV Caetani, Duke of Sermoneta, took Sermoneta subjects with him in his capacity as Captain of the Pontifician troops, when the Christian fleet destroyed the Turkish fleet on 30th September 1571 at the epic naval battle of Lepanto, which signaled the end of the westward expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The castle’s significant collection of arms was unfortunately stolen by French troops who occupied the castle in 1798. Restoration work was started in the XXth century by Gelasio Caetani, an architect, historian and World War I hero. With the death of Lelia Caetani in 1977, the main branch of the family became extinct. The castle is now run by the Roffredo Caetani Foundation, which was created by Lelia Caetani in honour of her illustrious family. Today, the castle hosts courses, seminars, and prestigious concerts.
Sermoneta overlooks the renowned gardens of Ninfa, established by the Caetanis among the ruins of the medieval town of Ninfa, as well as the Abbey of Valvisciolo.
Other Activities:
hill climbing
