Alvito, Lazio

Alvito is a town and comune in central Italy, in the province of Frosinone, south of Rome in the Lazio region. Its home to one of the oldest Italian castles.

History

Alvito was called in antiquity "Albitum", and was later a possession of the Abbey of Montecassino, and then of the Counts of Aquino and the Cantelmo family.

Alvito was the seat of a Duchy, created in 1454, on the boundary of the Kingdom of Naples (later, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies). Alvito, together with Sora, remained faithful to the Angevine line during the conquest of Alfonso V of Aragon, being conquered by the Aragonese only in 1496. Later it was a possession of the Gallio family.<!--NO TRACE OF THIS IN MY SOURCECesare Borgia acqured it 1496, and following a rebellion the inhabitants were punished with the village pillage. -->

Main sights

The village is articulated in three district urban nuclei: la Rocca (fortress), il Peschio, il Borgo Basso, contained in long town-walls still well preserved here and there. The Palazzo Ducale (or Palazzo Gallio, Ducal Palace), built in Renaissance style by Tolomeo Gallio in the late 16th-early 17th centuries, is located on the main road of the Basso Suburb, constituting the true nucleus of the present village. A little bit forward, on the left hand, a short small road goes uphill to the Church of S. Teresa. The Church is of baroque style, with a high portal.

The Parish of S. Simeone (16th century) has a Romanesque bell-tower and a 18th century interior....
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