Discover Sermoneta

Sermoneta is a walled hill town and comune of 9,943 people in the province of Latina, in Lazio, whose territory extends between the Agro Pontino and the Monti Lepini. Among the peaks rising within it are Monte Carbolino and Monte Furchia Vecchia.

Its principal monument is a massive castle, built by the Annibaldi family and then purchased and expanded by the Caetani in the thirteenth century — the family that gave the Church Boniface VIII.

The town also holds a thirteenth-century Romanesque church, the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta, which is sometimes erroneously called a cathedral, along with the churches of San Giuseppe, mainly sixteenth-century, and San Michele, mainly twelfth.

The Cistercian Valvisciolo Abbey lies nearby, beneath a ridge that carries something much older.

And the comune has a history that ends abruptly and on a date: a Jewish community engaged in the commerce of fish and in lending is attested here from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, when it was removed following Pius V's bull of expulsion of 1569.

What is Sermoneta known for? Its massive castle — built by the Annibaldi family, then purchased and expanded by the Caetani in the thirteenth century — and its walled hill town.

Who were the Caetani? The family that produced Boniface VIII, the pope seized at Anagni in 1303. The title of Duca di Sermoneta is still held today, currently by Carlos Egerton Bragança de Bourbon del Monte Caetani Sforza, born in 1993.

Is the collegiate church a cathedral? No. Santa Maria Assunta is a thirteenth-century Romanesque collegiate church, sometimes erroneously called a cathedral.

What else is in the town? The churches of San Giuseppe, mainly sixteenth-century, and San Michele, mainly twelfth.

What is Valvisciolo? A Cistercian abbey located nearby, below the town.

What is on Monte Carbolino? The ancient settlement of Valvisciolo, on the ridge immediately above the abbey, where remains of large walls in polygonal work are documented — interpreted not as agricultural terracing but as a multi-level complex with residential and defensive function.

What is the Necropolis of Caracupa? A protohistoric cemetery where about a hundred Iron Age inhumations representative of the Latial Culture have been found — the funerary sector of that ridge community.

Was this the Volscian city of Sulmo? Possibly, with much caution. It has been hypothesised, and the source is explicit that the identification is tentative.

What happened to the Jewish community? A Jewish community engaged in the commerce of fish and in lending is attested here from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. It was removed following Pius V's bull Hebraeorum gens sola (1569), which restricted Jewish residency to Rome and Ancona.

When is the hot season? About 2.8 months, from 18 June to 10 September, with average maxima above 27 °C.

When is it wettest? November, at about 94.4 mm over 10 rainy days. July is driest, at about 15 mm.