Latera is a small 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 the
Province of Viterbo
Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo.
Geography
Viterbo is the most northerly of the provinces of Lazio. It is bordered to the south by the Metropolitan City of Rome ...
,
Lazio
it, Laziale
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, 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 ...
.
Situated near
Bolsena Lake
Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic ...
and
Mezzano Lake, is important for volcanic underground activity near the town centre. It has a small rock with a medieval palace by
Farnese family, surrounded by medieval stone houses.
History
Latera and its castle are known by documents from around the beginning of the 12th century. It began its long-lasting link with the
Farnese family
The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family.
Its most important members included Pope Paul I ...
in 1408, when
Pope Gregory XII
Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppos ...
conceded vicardom of the city to Ranuccio Farnese, creating with the namesake city of
Farnese a Duchy independent from that of the nearby
Castro
Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''.
...
. The Farnese reigned over Latera until 1650.
Main sights
*The Palace of
Ranuccio Farnese
*The Three Fountains
*Museum of Earth, inaugurated in 1999
See also
*
Wars of Castro
References
External links
*
*
Cities and towns in Lazio
Former monarchies of Europe
Former duchies
{{Lazio-geo-stub