Alvito, an ancient village of Samnite origin, according to historians, rises from the ruins of old Cominium, founded by the Romans approximately in 291 B.C.. After the decline of the Roman Empire, it was devastated by the Lombards first, and by Federico Barbarossa’s armed forces then. Up till now, at the foot of the hill, stands the typical village of Alvito. On top of the hill, Cantelmo’s Castle towers above the town, as a symbol of the past civilization. Unfortunately, today we can see only the remains of the castle, towers and walls that still reveal how architecture was at that time, armorial bearings and emblems that can hardly represent the greatness and majesty of the manor-house that belonged to Cantelmos, a noble powerful family related to the Royal Family of Aragon. This family was so great and powerful, it owned such immense wealth that it had its own Mint in Sora, where they minted a coin, the “Silver Bolognino”, with Cantelmo’s coat of arms, known and exchanged around Italy. Cantelmo’s feud reached the territories of Sora, Vicalvi and Atina. Around the early 16th century, Alvito knew its maximum magnificence, being dwelled by 10,000 souls and becoming the administrative center of Comino Valley. When the Cantelmo dynasty started to decay, even the village of Alvito started a slow and constant decline, that generated a series of battles, conquests and destructions. Nowadays, all we have left of the castle is impressive remains of towers and retaining walls. The first core of the castle was built at the end of the 11th century by the Counts if Marsi, of Lombard descent, when by the slopes of Mt. Albeto there already were human settlements. By the end of the 12th century, CIVITAS SANCTI URBANI, a “Cassinian” possession born before the year one thousand around St. Urbano Church east of Mt. Albeto, by the hill called CIVITA’S, slowly started depopulating. Part of the population settled around the castle, in what would have become the CITTADELLA, surrounded by its walls with three doors. Another part settled by the underlying slope of Mt. Albeto, helping the start of those inhabited spots, close to a church, that would have characterized Comino Valley. The medieval castle, as we see it today, is what remains of the rebuilding after the earthquake that caused many damages to the strong walls in 1349. The rebuilding took place immediately, in 1350, thanks to Rostaino Cantelmo, whose great-great-grandparents had come to Italy after Charles d’Angiò. Cantelmo entered into possession of the castle because he was related to the previous Lords, the Counts of Aquino, who died under the ruins of the earthquake of 1349. Subsequently Rostaino Cantelmo extended the castle walls towards east and west until the valley adding several doors, near the towns of Peschio and Alvito. At night and in case of siege, the doors were closed to protect the inhabited centers. The only thing remained of the castle built in 1350 is the following inscription on the scroll upon the armorial bearing on the court door of the castle: “When for an earthquake there was general danger in several parts of the kingdom, these aged walls collapsing remained entirely settled down in the ground. But Rostaino, that noble man of the eminent and old Cantelmi family, repaired it in better and made a new castle with new walls and now keeping untamed his faithfulness, he makes it not less renowned and assures it the cry of that fable far in time. While the army of the king of Hungary had invaded the kingdom he, without forgiving or spending, made openly honor to what he had honestly promised, for many merits the king and the queen gave him this castle, empty at that time for the death of Atenulfo. If you’ll search for the year 1300 you’ll add 50 when the year of the jubilee kept open the doors of the sky for all the Christians, if you’ll ask the maker, get the name of Landulfo.”. "

We cannot skip the importance of St. Eleuterio Medieval Tower in Arce, close to the church with the same name. The tower, placed along the Liri river around the village of Campostefano, is called either Campolato tower or Toll tower or, inappropriately, Saracen tower. What remains of the manufacture is the tower with quadrangular plan, and ruins of the attached building. The tower is well kept, as its squared stones are, together with the corbels on top that held up the wainscot for the passage of the look-out, the vertical passage marked by shaped stones and the typical rectangular frame decorated with three shields one on top of the other: the highest shield is the coat of arms of the D’Angiò family who reigned the Neapolitan State between the 13th and the 15th century. The tower was a military protection checking on the circulation on Liri river. A bridge connects the territories on the right and left of the river, at the frontier between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal State. At the time of the Romans, in the surrounding territory, there was a town called Laterium, called Campolaterio in the Middle Ages, therefore Campolato or Campolato bridge. We find the first notes of the tower in a bull dated 1431, where Pope Eugene the 6th asks the Abbot of Montecassino to give hospitality to a few regretful rebels that had occupied many villages of the kingdom and the Papal State, including Arce and its “Fort” of Campolato tower. Another note is dated 1463, when the Pope had Arce, Fontana, Santopadre and Campolato tower occupied, giving the tower to Aldo De’ Conti as an everlasting vicariate. The group of buildings of the tower included the bridge and a Hostaria, comprised in the list of goods of the Dukedom of Arce, rented to the Nardelli brothers of Santopadre in 1854 by Boncompagni. In 1800 the tower was owned by the Common of Arce who, in 1854, gave the whole group for rent, at this point lacking the old military, toll and customs importance. The building was useful for its spaces to be assigned to the role of rooms and the hostaria as a modest refreshing business. This group of buildings will be restored and reclaimed to give Arce a chapter of its history back, too important to be abandoned to its degeneration, too important to let ivy and blackberry bushes darken its memory.

Fumone castle is placed in the surroundings of Fiuggi. Already equipped and strong in the 11th century, it became a State prison since the 12th century, when it gave hospitality to Burdino, Gregorio the 8th antipope , won and captured in Sutri by Callisto the 2nd. Then, in 1294, he died in that same place, after pope Celestino th 5th’s “big refusal”, caught by Bonifacio the 8th who isolated him there since 1295 to the 19th of may 1926. Today you can still see the narrow cell, where they say the pope stayed sleeping on the bare stone. Today that cell has been transformed into a chapel where the funeral service is celebrated every year in the day of Celestino’s death. Another section of the castle, with frescoed halls and a wonderful hanging garden, stresses the double nature of this place, both political and residential, from where you can enjoy a beautiful wide view from Colli Albani to Liri Valley, making of it a center of great strategic importance.The castle gave general fear because of its position, so mh that in the Middle Ages they used to say: “Si Fumo fumat, toda Campania tremat” (“If Fumo smokes, Campania shakes”). “Fumo” means Smoke, and that’s where the name Fumone comes from, because of the function the castle had in the Middle Ages. In case of invasions, the town in danger sent an alarm message to Fumone castle that forwarded the message to Rome from its height, with fires and clouds of smoke. During the Middle Ages the fortification was part of those directly subject to the Church, whose domains were imposed to Pope’s authority. In 1584 Giovanni Longhi, with the profits of the benefits lavished on him by the Pope, bought the castle and started the transformation of the abandoned manor. The Marquis Longhi restored the castle, turning it into a prince’s palace exceptionally protected. The heirs finished the work making a monumental hanging garden just above the grand residence. The Longhi family is nowadays keeper and owner of the fortress.

Trevi in Latium, nowadays a summer holidays resort, has always been, even in ancient times, the principal center and the administrative reference of the whole Aniene Valley. We have no historical sources able to give us a precise date of birth of Caetani Castle; it was probably founded around the year one thousand, when the battlements phenomenon started to grow. In 1257 Pope Alexander the 6th gave his grandson Rinaldo de Rubeis the feud of the city of Trevi, with the attached possessions, including the castle. A few years later, in 1262, with the advent of Pope Urbano the 4th, the feud was given as an ownership to the monastery of Subiaco. From here, a series of events alternated the papacy to De Rubeis more than once, who were owners of the castle until 1299, when it was bought by Pietro Caetani, brother of Bonifiacio the 8th. This is the time when the castle saw its maximum bloom, that lasted for all the length of Caetani domination, which ended in 1471, when Cristoforo Caetani was thrown out by the popoation because of its mismanagement. In 1473 Trevi came back to the monastery of Subiaco and the castle became seat of the Curia; in 1753 Benedetto the 14th gave the Common a different administrative organization, and the castle lost almost all of its representative functions. As time went by, the town’s houses leaned against its walls, remarkably reducing its defensive potentialities. I n 1915, after the earthquake, with the reconstruction of the built-up area, a part of the castle was included in the adjoining houses. Since then, the fort was completely abandoned, with the consequent collapse of a few portions of bulkheads and of all the wooden floors. In 1984 started the restoration works, already ended by now.