Arpino is a municipality of the Ciociaria region, in the province of Frosinone, founded, in the local tales, by the god Saturn and located on the left side of the Liri Valley. It was a major fortified city and belonged to Volsci first, then to the Samnites, and finally was conquered by the Romans in 305 B.C., obtaining full Roman citizenship in 188 B.C. The birthplace of Marcus Tullius Cicerone and Gaius Marius. After the fall of the Roman Empire, its huge walls gave refuge to people fleeing from the other smaller towns of the neighborhood, from the frequent attacks of the Barbarians. In 702 it was conquered by the Duke of the Lombards of Benevento Gisulfo I, while in 860 it passed to the Franks, and after Hungarian and Saracen incursions, it fell into Norman hands. The economic recovery coincided with the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples by Anjou. In the XV century, the town belonged to the Marquis d'Avalos and in 1583 it was acquired by the Dukes Boncompagni.
Sites of Interest:
- the acropolis of Civitavecchia, which can be accessed through the famous Gothic arch, unique of its kind, but at the same time similar to those of Tiryns and Mycenae. It is surrounded by massive cyclopean walls, which date back to the VI and V centuries B.C.;
- the medieval tower (known as Cicero), situated inside the premises of the Acropolis;
- the traces of the ancient Roman decuman road;
- the Holy Trinity Church, built in the XVIII century and features a Greek cross plan. Today it is privately owned;
- the Church of San Vito, dating from the XVI century and built on the ruins of the pagan temple dedicated to Venus Conciliatrice. Inside it is possible to admire a painting of the Mannerist painter Giuseppe Cesari, also known with the name Cavalier d'Arpino;
- the Church and the Benedictine Monastery of St. Andrew the Apostle, already mentioned in 1084, destroyed and rebuilt in the XIII century and renovated between the XVI and XVIII centuries;
- the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, built on the ruins of a pagan temple probably dedicated to Apollo and nine Muses. It features a Latin cross plan with three naves and preserves several artworks of the Cavalier d'Arpino and a XIV century cross of the Art School of Tuscany;
- the XV century Church of the Pieta, which preserves several valuable artworks, including a recently discovered and restored fresco, attributed to the school of Cavalier d'Arpino;
- the Chapel of Our Lady of Loreto, located near to the Castle of Ladislao.