Alvito
Encyclopedia
Alvito is a town and comune
in central Italy
, in the province of Frosinone
, south of Rome in the Lazio region
. Its home to one of the oldest Italian castles.
Alvito was the seat of a Duchy
, created in 1454, on the boundary of the Kingdom of Naples
(later, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
). Alvito, together with Sora
, remained faithful to the Angevine
line during the conquest of Alfonso V of Aragon
, being conquered by the Aragonese only in 1496. Later it was a possession of the Gallio family.
in the late 16th-early 17th centuries, is located on the main road of the Basso Suburb, constituting the true nucleus of the present village. A little bit forward, on the left hand, a short small road goes uphill to the Church of S. Teresa. The Church is of baroque style, with a high portal.
The Parish of S. Simeone (16th century) has a Romanesque bell-tower and a 18th century interior. From the church, passing through a Gothic gate, is a stairway leading to the ex-monastery of S. Nicholas, destroyed by the earthquake of the year 1915, restored in 1934: it has maintained the chorus and the inlaid cupboards of the 18th century, ordered by pope Clement XIV
.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in the province of Frosinone
Province of Frosinone
The Province of Frosinone is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 comuni . Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of 3,244 km², and a total population of 489,042 .The Province was established by Royal Decree on 6 December 1926 with territories belonging to Lazio...
, south of Rome in the Lazio region
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
. Its home to one of the oldest Italian castles.
History
Alvito was called in antiquity "Albitum", and was later a possession of the Abbey of Montecassino, and then of the Counts of Aquino and the Cantelmo family.Alvito was the seat of a Duchy
Duchy of Alvito
The Duchy of Alvito was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Naples, in southern Italy.-Rule of the Cantelmo:The Cantelmo family, of French origins, had arrived in Italy in the 13th century around the time the Angevins conquered Naples...
, created in 1454, on the boundary of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
(later, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
). Alvito, together with Sora
Duchy of Sora
The Duchy of Sora was a semi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by King Alfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is today Lazio, bordering what is now Abruzzo...
, remained faithful to the Angevine
House of Valois-Anjou
The Valois House of Anjou, or the Younger House of Anjou, was a noble French family, deriving from the royal family, the House of Valois. They were monarchs of Naples, as well as various other territories....
line during the conquest of Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...
, being conquered by the Aragonese only in 1496. Later it was a possession of the Gallio family.
Main sights
The village is articulated in three district urban nuclei: la Rocca (fortress), il Peschio, il Borgo Basso, 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 GallioTolomeo Gallio
Tolomeo Gallio was an Italian Cardinal.In the time of Pope Gregory XIII, he acted as papal secretary of state , having a key role in the curia....
in the late 16th-early 17th centuries, is located on the main road of the Basso Suburb, constituting the true nucleus of the present village. A little bit forward, on the left hand, a short small road goes uphill to the Church of S. Teresa. The Church is of baroque style, with a high portal.
The Parish of S. Simeone (16th century) has a Romanesque bell-tower and a 18th century interior. From the church, passing through a Gothic gate, is a stairway leading to the ex-monastery of S. Nicholas, destroyed by the earthquake of the year 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
Pope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...
.
Notable Alvitani
Alvito is the place of birth of:- Mario EquicolaMario EquicolaMario Equicola was an Italian Renaissance humanist: a neolatin author, a bibliophile, and a courtier of Isabella d'Este and Federico II Gonzaga. The National Gallery of Art describes him as "one of the Renaissance's most admired classical scholars".Born at Alvito in or around 1470, Equicola was...
a renaissanceRenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
humanistHumanistHumanist may refer to:* A proponent or practitioner of humanism, which has several distinct senses, which are listed at Humanism and at Humanism * Humanist sans-serif, a classification of the sans-serif typeface... - Antonio FazioAntonio FazioAntonio Fazio is an Italian banker, who was the Governor of Banca d'Italia from 1993 until his resignation amidst controversy at the end of 2005....
the former chairman of Bank of ItalyBank of ItalyBank of Italy may refer to either :*Banca d'Italia is the central bank of Italy.*Bank of Italy was a bank established in San Francisco, California and the forerunner of Bank of America.... - Erminio SipariErminio SipariErminio Sipari was an Italian politician and naturalist, author of studies on the preservation of nature and founder of Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, which he chaired from 1922 to 1933.-Biography:...
a conservationistConservationistConservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, founder and first president of Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo