Sermoneta is a hill 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 Latina The Province of Latina ( it, Provincia di Latina) is an area of local government at the level of province in the Republic of Italy. It is one of five provinces that form the region of Lazio. The provincial capital is the city of Latina. It is bor ...

(

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

), central Italy. It is a walled hill town, with a 13th-century Romanesque cathedral called Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and a massive castle, built by the

Caetani The House of Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family, originally from the city of Gaeta, connected by some to the lineage of the lords of the Duchy of Gaeta, as well as to the patrician Gaetani of the Republic of Pisa. It play ...

family. The Cistercian

Valvisciolo Abbey Valvisciolo Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in the province of Latina, central Italy, near the towns of Sermoneta and Ninfa. It is an example of rigorous Romanesque-Cistercian architecture, considered a masterpiece of that style in central Ital ...

is located nearby. The churches of

San Giuseppe San Giuseppe is the Italian name of Saint Joseph. It may refer to: Places of Italy Municipalities * San Giuseppe Jato, in the Province of Palermo, Sicily *San Giuseppe Vesuviano, in the Province of Naples, Campania * Rima San Giuseppe, in the Provi ...

(mainly 16th century) and San Michele (mainly 12th century) still stand. In the 13th-16th centuries, it was home to a flourishing Jewish community. Sermoneta is the hometown of the

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 "human ...

Aldo Manuzio and eighteenth-century painter

Antonio Cavallucci Antonio Cavallucci (21 August 1752 – 18 November 1795) was an eighteenth-century Italian painter of religious scenes and portraits. Biography Cavallucci was born in Sermoneta in the Lazio. His artistic talents were recognized in an early stag ...

. Scenes of the 2007 film ''

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

'' featuring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

were filmed in Sermoneta. The 2015 short film ''Italian Miracle'' was filmed in the town. In 1978, an episode of

Return of the Saint ''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian bro ...

was filmed there: the town was known as Santa Maria.

Notable residents

Girolamo Siciolante Girolamo is an Italian variant of the name Hieronymus. Its English equivalent is Jerome. It may refer to: * Girolamo Cardano (1501–1576), Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler * Girolamo Cassar (c. 1520 – after ...

(1521-1575), painter; *

Fabritio Caroso Fabritio Caroso da Sermoneta (1526/1535 – 1605/1620) was an Italian Renaissance dancing master and a composer or transcriber of dance music. His dance manual ''Il Ballarino'' was published in 1581, with a subsequent edition, significantly dif ...

(1526/1535 – 1605/1620), Renaissance dancing master, poet, and author of dancing manuals; *

(1752–95), painter; *

Ubaldo Righetti Ubaldo Righetti (; born 1 March 1963) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender; he was usually deployed as a centre-back. Club career Righetti played 10 seasons in the Italian Serie A for A.S. Roma, Udinese, U.S. ...

(1963- ), retired football player; * Cesare Battisti (1954- ), ex terrorist; *

Elena Santarelli Elena Santarelli (born 18 August 1981) is an Italian model, television personality and actress. Life and career Born in Latina, the niece of footballer Ubaldo Righetti, Santarelli started her career as a model, and she made her television debu ...

(1981- ), actress;

Twin towns

Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

, Italy *

Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye (), also Saint-Antoine-en-Viennois, is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. On 31 December 2015, the former commune of Dionay was merged into Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye.Atalanti, Greece

References

Hilltowns in Lazio {{Lazio-geo-stub