Alvito is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in the

province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of ...

, south of Rome in the

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. Its territory is included in the

Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. I ...

History

Alvito was called in antiquity "Albetum", and was later a possession of the Counts of Aquino and the Cantelmo family. Alvito was the seat of a

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

, created in 1454, on the boundary of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

(later,

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

). Alvito, together with Sora, remained faithful to the Angevine line during the conquest of

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the t ...

, being conquered by the Aragonese only in 1496. Later it was a possession of the

Gallio family Gallio may refer to: People * Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus (1–65), Roman governor of Achaea * Stefano Gallio (born 1908), Italian footballer * Tolomeo Gallio (1527–1607), Italian Cardinal Other uses * Gallio, Veneto, town in Vicenza, Veneto ...

Main sights

The village is articulated in three district urban nuclei that include: il Castello (fortress), il Peschio, La Valle, 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 Tolomeo Gallio (also spelled Gallo and Galli; 25 September 1527 – 3 or 4 February 1607) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal. Biography In the time of Pope Gregory XIII, he acted as papal secretary of state (in office 1572 to 15 ...

in the late 16th-early 17th centuries, is located on the main road of La Valle Suburb, constituting the true nucleus of the present village. On the same road are other important buildings (Palazzo Sipari, Palazzo Graziani) of the 19th century. A little bit forward, on the left hand, a short small road goes uphill to the Church of S. Teresa, in a baroque style, with a high portal. The main parish church, San Simeone (16th century), is located in La Valle near the Palazzo Sipari. The church has a Romanesque bell tower and an 18th-century interior. From the church, passing through a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

gate, is a stairway leading to the deconsecrated monastery of San Nicolas, a former Franciscan institution. The monastery was nearly destroyed by the earthquake in 1915, restored in 1934: it has maintained the chorus and the inlaid cupboards of the 18th century, ordered by

Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Sep ...

People

Alvito is the place of birth of: * Mario Equicola a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

* Antonio Fazio, former chairman of

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's curre ...

* Erminio Sipari a conservationist, founder and first president of

Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. It ...

Twin towns

* Alvito, Portugal

Gallery

File:Ruderi Castello Alviteo.jpg, Remains of the Alvito's fortress File:Palazzo_Sipari.jpg, The main street with Palazzo Sipari

References

Cities and towns in Lazio {{Latium-geo-stub