Esperia is a comune

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:...

(municipality) 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...

 in the Italian

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...

 region Lazio, located about 110 km (68.4 mi) southeast of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and about 40 km southeast of Frosinone

Frosinone

Frosinone is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the Province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 km south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples Autostrada A1...

. It is located within the Monti Aurunci Natural Park.

History

According to some theories, the foundation of the town would be linked to the destruction of the Roman colony

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 of Interamna Lirenas

Interamna Lirenas

Interamna Lirenas was an ancient Roman colony near the current Pignataro Interamna, in the southern province of Frosinone, central Italy.-History:...

, although the first historically documented human presence date to the foundation of several monasteries, with the annexed boroughs, by the Abbey of Montecassino (10th century).

The name "Esperia" was chosen in 1867 when the current frazioni of Roccaguglielma and San Pietro merged into a single municipality, with the former as the municipal seat.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Esperia was one of the towns suffering heavily from "Marocchinate

Marocchinate

Marocchinate is a term applied to the mass rape and killings committed during World War II after the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy by Goumiers, Moroccan colonial troops of the French Expeditionary Corps ), commanded by General Alphonse Juin.- Background :Goumiers were colonial irregular...

" - the mass rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 committed after the Battle of Monte Cassino

Battle of Monte Cassino

The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...

 by Goumier

Goumier

Moroccan Goumiers were soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. The term Goumier was also occasionally used to designate native soldiers in the French army of the French Sudan and Upper Volta during the colonial era.-Description:The word...

s, Moroccan

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 colonial troops

Colonial troops

Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various military units recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories.- Colonial background :...

 of the French Expeditionary Corps

French Expeditionary Corps (1943-1944)

The French Expeditionary Corps , also known as the French Expeditionary Corps in Italy , was an expeditionary force composed of French soldiers that fought in the Italian Campaign during World War II under the command of General Alphonse Juin....

. Esperia's mayor at the time reported that in his town, 700 women out of 2,500 inhabitants were raped and that some had died as a result.

Main sights

The church of Santa Maria Maggiore houses a painting by Taddeo Zuccari

Taddeo Zuccari

Taddeo Zuccari was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school.-Biography:...

 and a 1521 bas-relief. The Baroque church of the Madonna di Loreto has a 16th century wooden Madonna and several paintings by Luca Giordano

Luca Giordano

Luca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....

.

Other churches include San Donato, Santa Maria di Montevetro (with 15th century frescoes) and the 16th century Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie, located near the remains of the castle. Of the ancient monastery of San Pietro in Foresta only a tower remains today.

Dinosaur footprints were discovered in 2006 in the locality of San Martino.