Arce, Italy
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Arce (
Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and High ...
: ) is a ''
comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' (municipality) in the
province of Frosinone The province of Frosinone () is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of and a total population of 493,605 (2016). The province contains 91 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), listed in the ...
, in the region of
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. it is an agricultural centre located on a hill overlooking the
Via Casilina The Via Casilina is a medieval road in Latium and Campania. It led from Rome to Casilinum (present-day Capua), to present-day Santa Maria Capua Vetere. It was created from the fusion of two ancient Roman roads, the ''Via Latina'' and the ''Via ...
, in the
Latin Valley Valle Latina (English: "Latin Valley") is an Italian geographical and historical region that extends from the south of Rome to Cassino, corresponding to the eastern area of ancient Roman Latium. The valley's principal cities are Frosinone, Cassi ...
and in the middle valley of the
Liri The Liri (Latin Liris or Lyris, previously, Clanis; Greek: ) is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano. Source and route The Liri's source is in the ...
. Arce borders with the municipalities of
Ceprano Ceprano (Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Valle Latina, part of the Lazio region of Central Italy. It is south of Rome and about north of Naples. In 1994, the Ceprano Man, a 450,000 year o ...
,
Colfelice Colfelice is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Colfelice borders the following municipalities: Arce, Rocca d'Arce, Roccasecca, ...
, Falvaterra,
Fontana Liri Fontana Liri is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italy, Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about east of Frosinone. Fontana Liri is in the Latin Valley. Fontana Liri borders the following mun ...
,
Monte San Giovanni Campano Monte San Giovanni Campano is a ''comune'' (municipality) of about 12,800 inhabitants in the province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about east of Frosinone. Monte San Giovanni Campano is in the Lat ...
,
Rocca d'Arce Rocca d'Arce is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Rocca d'Arce borders the following municipalities: Arce, Colfelice, Fontana ...
,
San Giovanni Incarico San Giovanni Incarico is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. It is the site of the ancient Latin town of Fabrateria Nova. San Gio ...
and Strangolagalli.


History

The name Arce derives from the Roman word "arx", or fortress, to which it was used in various eras, or from'' Arcanum'', the mountain on which the area is lying. The first time that the name of Arce is found in a document is in the
Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (,  "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...
from the 7th century AD. At the time it was part of the
Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
. In 702, Arce was taken by the Lombard Gisulf I, thus becoming the possession of the Duchy of Benevento. In 846 and in 877 Arce was taken and plundered by the Saracens and again, in 937, by the
Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
. At the end of the 10th century Arce was donated by the Lombard
prince of Capua This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua. Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the i ...
to the monks of Montecassino, who held it until 1058, when the Norman Richard, Count of Aversa, took possession of it. In 1191 Arce was taken by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. In 1230, when he returned from the Holy Land, the latter's son Frederick II took over Arce again. In 1265 the town, defended in vain by the troops of Manfredi of Sicily, was taken by
Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...
. Under the Anjou, Arce was granted in fief first to the Cantelmo family, then to the Della Rovere family. The
Della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...
family held Arce as a fief until 1612, when it was bought by
Giacomo Boncompagni Giacomo Boncompagni (also ''Jacopo Boncompagni''; 8 May 1548 – 18 August 1612) was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni). He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, a ...
(Duchy of Arce and Duchy of Sora). In 1796 the domination of the Boncompagni family ended and the town was aggregated to the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially 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 established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
. The boundary with the Papal State was marked by 14 stones. In 1856 the Civita Farnese road was opened, which still today connects Arce with
Itri Itri is a small city and ''comune'' the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy. Itri is an agricultural centre divided in two parts by a small river, the Pontone. It lies in a valley between the Monti Aurunci and the sea, not far from the Gul ...
, near to the
Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...
coast. On December 4, 1884, the Roccasecca-Arce railway line was inaugurated, which was subsequently extended to
Avezzano Avezzano ( ; ) is a city and comune in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila, Italy. It is the second most populous municipality in the province and the sixth in the region. It is the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the ...
. In 1927, with the dismemberment of the former
province of Caserta The province of Caserta () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta, situated about by road north of Naples. The province has an area of , and a population of 907,442. The Palace of Caserta is located nea ...
, of which it was part, was included in the province of Frosinone. During late
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Arce was occupied by German troops until May 29, 1944, when Allied troops from Cassino arrived.


Main sights

Main sights include the Baroque ''Parrocchiale of Santi Pietro e Paolo'' (late 17th century), the church of ''Sant'Antonio'', which has maintained a 13th-century portal, and the ''Torre del Pedaggio''. The archaeological area of
Fregellae Fregellae was an ancient town of Latium adiectum, situated on the Via Latina between Aquinum (modern Aquino) and Frusino (now Frosinone), in central Italy, near the left branch of the Liris. History Fregellae was said to have been founded i ...
is located nearby.


Economy

Economy includes the production of biodynamic wines, cereals, fruit, olives and forage. It is a region composed of hills, and mountains and is uniquely suited to viticulture because of its mild climate, a rich and varied geological mix of soils of which volcanic soils are prominent, coastal breezes, adequate rainfall, variations in day-night temperatures and an abundance of rare, unknown high-quality native grape varieties, Red grape - Lecinaro, white grape - Capolongo, Pampanaro and white Maturano. Also the red grape Maturano, still the subject of research at the centre of Enology along with the red grape Olivella. Low level tourism, Wine enthusiasts visit a state of the art eco winery, vineyards and rural landscape. Visitors are also intrigued by the historical element to this small medieval town and are drawn to it for its unspoilt location.


References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Lazio