Ceccano 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 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 ...

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

, 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

Latin Valley Valle Latina (''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, Cassino, So ...

History

The town had its origins as an ancient

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

an citadel that surrendered to the Romans in 330 BC (424 Ab Urbe Condita).''The History of Rome'', Book II, Theodor Mommsen, (Kessinger Publishing, 2004), p. 112. Its name in ancient times was ''Fabrateria Vetus''. According to tradition, the name was changed into the current one in the early Middle Ages, in honor of one Petronius Ceccanus, father of

Pope Honorius I Pope Honorius I (died 12 October 638) was the bishop of Rome from 27 October 625 to his death. He was active in spreading Christianity among Anglo-Saxons and attempted to convince the Celts to calculate Easter in the Roman fashion. He is chiefl ...

. Conquered by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

at the time of King

Aistulf Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...

(c. 750), later it became an important fortress of the Papal territories. In 1218, a monk from nearby

Fossanova Abbey Fossanova Abbey, earlier Fossa Nuova, is a church that was formerly a Cistercian abbey located near the railway-station of Priverno in Latina, Italy, about south-east of Rome. History Fossanova is one of the finest examples of early Burgundian ...

compiled the '' Annals of Ceccano''. From 900 to 1450 it was ruled by the local Counts of Ceccano, most likely of German origin; later their territories were assigned to

Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

and then to the

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

. From 3 November 1943 and 31 May 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the town suffered 38 air attacks from Allied forces despite having no strategical importance; in one of them the Church of ''Santa Maria a Fiume'', a national monument, was destroyed. Canadian Army war artist Charles Comfort painted the town as it appeared during the Second World War.

Main sights

*Church of '' Santa Maria a Fiume'' (13th century), rebuilt on the original lines after the destruction in World War II *Church of ''San Nicola'' (12th century), including columns with inscriptions in Lombard style. *''Castello dei Conti'', a medieval castle overlooking the

Sacco River The Sacco is a river of central Italy, a right tributary of the Liri. It flows between the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital and the province of Frosinone in Lazio. Territory The river originates from the Prenestini Mountains, formed by the ...

Valley. During excavations for the construction of the TAV high speed railroad, remains of a large Roman villa have been discovered.

Twin towns

Plouzané Plouzané () is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. History The shores south of Plouzané are in a strategic location for the defense of the Goulet de Brest strait and were fortified by Sébastien Le Pr ...

, France *

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

, Mexico

References

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