The town has played a conspicuous part in military history; its walls date to Roman times and were extended and strengthened in the 15th century,[3] especially throughout the history of the Kingdom of Naples (later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).
Present-day Gaeta is a fishing and oil seaport and a renowned tourist resort. NATO maintains a naval base at Gaeta.
Ancient Caieta was situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was inhabited by the Oscan-speakingItalic tribe of the Aurunci by the 10th-9th century BC. Only in 345 BC did the territory of Gaeta come under Rome's influence.[4]
Caieta with its ltemperate climate[5] like the neighbouring Formia and Sperlonga, became one of the earliest locations of villae maritimae, seaside villas and luxurious retreats for the Roman elite owned, for example, by Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC) and Gaius Laelius.[6] Caieta was also linked to the capital of the Roman Empire by the Appian Way and its extension the Via Flacca.
The remains of the monumental villa[7] of Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul 56 BC), stepfather of Augustus, are in Hotel Irlanda in the Arcella area.[8]Lucius Munatius Plancus (consul in 42 BC) had a vast villa located on Monte Orlando overlooking the Gulf of Gaeta. His mausoleum, built at the end of the 1st century BC, is still an impressive monument inside a large clearing within the villa.[9]
In the Roman imperial age it continued as a popular resort for many important and rich characters of Rome. Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96 AD) also had a villa in the area.[12]
Emperor Antoninus Pius restored the port, given its strategic relevance.[13]
Remains of an aqueduct that supplied the town from the Conca hill can be seen a few metres from the villa of Hortensius.[14][15]
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, after the Lombard invasion, Gaeta remained under the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. In the following years, like Amalfi, Sorrento and Naples, it would seem to have established itself as a practically independent port and to have carried on a thriving trade with the Levant.[3]
As Byzantine influence declined in Southern Italy, the town began to grow. For fear of the Saracens, in 840, the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta. Though under the suzerainty of Byzantium, Gaeta had then, like nearby ports Naples and Amalfi, a republican form of government with a dux ("duke" or commanding lord under the command of the Byzantine Exarch of Ravenna), as a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion.
Around 830, it became a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati or consuls:[3] The first of these was Constantine (839–866), who in 847 aided Pope Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia. At this same time (846), the episcopal see of Gaeta was founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence. He was associated with his son Marinus I. They were probably violently overthrown (they disappeared suddenly from history) in 866 or 867 by Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy. Nevertheless, he greatly expanded the duchy and began the construction of the palace. The greatest of the hypati was possibly John I, who helped crush the Saracens at Garigliano in 915 and gained the title of patricius from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII.
The principle of co-regency governed the early dynasties: Docibilis I associated John with him, and John, in turn, associated his son Docibilis II with him. In 933, three generations were briefly co-ruling: John I, Docibilis II, and John II. On the death of Docibilis II (954), who first took the title dux, the duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled Fondi with the equivalent title of duke. Outlying lands and castles were given away to younger sons, and thus the family of the Docibili slowly declined after the mid-century.
Allegedly, but improbably, from the end of the 9th century, the principality of Capua claimed Gaeta as a courtesy title for the younger son of its ruling prince. In the mid-10th century, the De Ceremoniis of Constantine VII lists the ceremonial title "prince of Gaeta" among the protocols for letters written to foreigners.[16]
Prince Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles. In 1038, Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno took it from him and, in 1041, established the Normancounts of Aversa, who were afterwards princes of Capua, as puppet dukes. The native dynasty made a last attempt to wrest the duchy from Guaimar in 1042 under Leo I of Gaeta.
In 1045, the Gaetans elected their Lombard duke, Atenulf I. His son, Atenulf II, was made to submit to the Norman Prince Richard I of Capua in 1062 when Gaeta was captured by Jordan I of Capua. In 1064, the city was placed under a line of puppet dukes, appointed by the Capuan princes, who had usurped the ducal and consular titles. These dukes, usually Italianate Normans, ruled Gaeta with some level of independence until the death of Richard III of Gaeta in 1140. In that year, Gaeta was definitively annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily by Roger II, who bestowed on his son Roger of Apulia, who was duly elected by the nobles of the city. The town did maintain its coinage until as late as 1229 after the Normans had been superseded by the centralising Hohenstaufen.
Gaeta, owing to its important strategic position, was often attacked and defended bravely in the many wars for possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1194 the Pisans, allies of Emperor Henry VI in the conquest of the kingdom, took possession of the city and held it as their own.
In 1227, Frederick II, who was King of Sicily since 1198, was in the city and strengthened the castle. However, in the struggle between Frederick and the Papacy, in 1228, it rebelled against Frederick II and surrendered to the pope after the Papal forces destroyed the castle in the fray. After the peace of San Germano of 1230, it was returned to the Sicilian kingdom. In 1233, Frederick regained control of the important port and fortress. Following the division between the Kingdom of Sicily, Gaeta became a possession of the new Kingdom of Naples. In 1279 Charles I of Anjou rebuilt the castle and enhanced the fortifications. In 1289 King James II of Aragon besieged the city in vain. From 1378 Gaeta hosted for some years antipope Clement VII. The future King of NaplesLadislaus lived in Gaeta from 1387. Here, on 21 September, he married Costanza Chiaramonte, whom he repudiated three years later.
King Alfonso V of Aragon (as Alfonso I of Naples) made Gaeta his beachhead for the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples in 1435, besieged it, and to his disadvantage, displayed great generosity by aiding those unable to bear arms which had been driven out from the besieged town. After a disastrous naval battle, he captured it and gained control of the kingdom. He enlarged the castle, which became his royal palace, and created a mint. In 1451 the city was home to the Treaty of Gaeta, stipulated between Alfonso V and the Albanian lord, Skanderbeg: the treaty ensured protection of the Albanian lands in exchange for political suzerainty of Skanderbeg to Alfonso.[17]
In 1528 Andrea Doria, admiral of Charles V, defeated a French fleet in the waters off Gaeta and gave the city to its emperor. Gaeta was thenceforth protected with a new and more extensive wall encompassing Monte Orlando.
On 18 July 1806, the French captured it under André Masséna, after a heroic defence. It was created as a duché grand-fief in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, but under the French name Gaète, for finance minister Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, in 1809 (family extinguished in 1841). On 8 August 1815, it capitulated to the Austrians after a three-months siege. It had been attacked and partially reduced by ships of the Royal Navy on 24 July 1815.
After his flight from the Roman Republic, Pope Pius IX took refuge at Gaeta in November 1848. He remained in Gaeta until 4 September 1849.
On 1 August 1849, USS Constitution while in port at Gaeta, received onboard King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX, giving them a 21-gun salute. This was the first time a Pope set foot on American territory or its equivalent.
Gaeta by air, between 1917 and 1964
Finally, in 1860, Gaeta was the scene of the last stand of Francis II of the Two Sicilies against the forces of United Italy. The king offered a stubborn defence, shut up in the fortress with 12,000 men and was inspired by the heroic example of Queen Maria Sophie after Giuseppe Garibaldi's occupation of Naples. It was not until 13 February 1861 that Francis II was forced to capitulate when the withdrawal of the French fleet made bombardment from the sea possible,[3] thus sealing the annexation of the Kingdom of Naples to the Kingdom of Italy. Enrico Cialdini, the Piedmontese general, received the victory title of Duke of Gaeta. During the functioning of the Government of Montenegro in exile from 1919 to 1924, that supported the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty and opposed the rule of the house of Karađorđević in Yugoslavia (The Greens) were located in Gaeta.
After the Risorgimento and until World War II, Gaeta grew in importance and wealth as a seaport. The nearby town of Elena, separated after the Risorgimento and named after the queen of Italy, was reunited with Gaeta following World War I. Benito Mussolini transferred Gaeta from the southern region known today as Campania (formerly Terra di Lavoro, to which it is historically and culturally attached) to the central region of Lazio.
After the king dismissed Mussolini in the summer of 1943, the latter was initially taken via Gaeta to the island prison of Ponza. After Italy surrendered to the Allies, however, the town's fortunes began to decline. Recognizing its strategic importance and fearing an Allied landing in the area, German troops occupied the city and expelled most of the population. The exclusion zone extended five kilometres from the historical city centre. Soon after, however, the population was expelled even beyond this point. The Gaetani were finally ordered to leave the area completely. Those who could not be placed in a concentration camp and a few were taken to Germany.
Following the Allied advance across the Garigliano River and the Allied occupation of Rome, the Gaetani were allowed to return to their city and begin the process of rebuilding. In subsequent decades the city has boomed as a beach resort, and it has seen some success marketing its agricultural products, primarily its tomatoes and olives. Many of its families count seamen among their number. However, the decades since World War II have been as difficult for Gaeta as they have been for most of Italy's Mezzogiorno. In particular, its importance as a passenger seaport has nearly vanished: ferries to Ponza and elsewhere now leave from the nearby town of Formia. All attempts to build a permanent industry as a source of employment and economic well-being for the town have failed. Notable losses include the Littorina rail line (now used as a parking lot and a marketplace), the AGIP refinery (nowadays a simple depot), and the once-thriving glass factory, which has become an unused industrial relic.
Gaeta does have a viable tourism industry, as it is a popular seaside resort. Its warm, rain-free summers attract people to its numerous beaches along the coastline, such as Serapo and Sant'Agostino's beaches. Nearly equidistant to Naples and Rome, Gaeta is a popular summer tourist destination for people from both cities' metropolitan areas.
Aragonese-Angevine CastleThe bell tower of the CathedralDome of San Giovanni a Mare church
Main sights
The natural sea grotto of La Grotta Del Turco (the Turk's grotto)
The main attractions of the city include:
The Aragonese-Angevine Castle. Its origins are uncertain: most likely it was built in the 6th century, in the course of the Gothic War, or during the 7th century to defend the town from the Lombards' advance. The first documents mentioning it date to the age of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, who strengthened it in 1233. The current structure is made of two different edifices: the "Angevine" one, in the lower sector, dating to the House of Anjou's rule in the Kingdom of Naples; and the "Aragonese", at the top, built by emperor Charles V, together with the other fortifications that made Gaeta one of the strongest fortresses in southern Italy. The Angevine wing housed a military jail until the 1980s (German war criminal officers Walter Reder and Herbert Kappler were imprisoned here). Now it is a property of the Gaeta municipality, which uses it for conferences and exhibitions. In the dome of the tallest tower is the Royal Chapel, built by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies in 1849.
The Mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus (22 BCE) is a cylindrical travertine monument at the top of Monte Orlando (168 m). It stands at 13.20 m and has a diameter of 29.50 m. Another important Roman public man, Lucius Sempronius Atratinus, Mark Antony's fleet commander, has a mausoleum sited in the more recent district of Gaeta: of similar diameter; it is, however not as well preserved.
The Sanctuary of SS. Trinità was mentioned as early as the 11th century and visited, among the others, by St. Francis and Saint Philip Neri. The Crucifix Chapel was built in 1434 over a rock which had fallen from the nearby cliffs. From the sanctuary, the Grotta del Turco can be visited: it is a grotto which ends directly in the sea and where the waves create atmospheric effects of light.
San Giovanni a Mare - The church was initially built outside the old sea walls by the hypate Giovanni IV in the 10th century. It combines the basilica form with the Byzantine one. The simple façade has a Gothic portal and a dome, while the interior has a nave with two aisles. The inner pavement is slightly inclined to allow waters to flow away in the case of maritime floods.
The Cathedral of Assunta e Sant'Erasmo was erected over a more ancient church, Santa Maria del Parco, and consecrated by Pope Paschal II in 1106: it had a nave with six aisles separated by columns with Gothic capitals. In 1778, however, two of the aisles were suppressed, and the Gothic lines were hidden. In the 13th century, Moorish arches were added over the capitals. In 1663 the crypt was decorated in Baroque style. The interior houses a banner from the Battle of Lepanto, donated by Pope Pius V to Don John of Austria, who used it as his admiral's flag. The main sight of the church is, however, the marble Paschal candelabrum, standing 3.50 m tall, from the late 13th century: it is in Romanesque style, decorated with 48 reliefs in 4 vertical rows, telling the Stories of the Life of Jesus. There are also paintings by Giacinto Brandi and Giovanni Filippo Criscuolo. The cathedral contains the relics of St. Erasmus, transferred from Formia; the remarkable campanile, in Arab-Norman style, dates from the 12th century. At the base are slabs and parts of columns from ancient Roman edifices.
The Cathedral has a great bell tower, standing at 57 m, which is considered the city's finest piece of art. The base has two marble lions, and the whole construction largely reused ancient Roman architectural elements. The upper part, octagonal in plan, with small Romanesque arches with majolica decoration, was completed in 1279.
The Chapel of the Crucifix is a curiosity: built on a huge mass of rock that hangs like a wedge between two adjoining walls of rock. Legend tells how the rock was thus split at Christ's death.
San Francesco - According to the legend, the church was constructed by the saint himself in 1222. In reality, Frederick II ordered the construction. The church features a fine Gothic-Italian style and hosts paintings and sculptures by many of the most famous Neapolitan artists.[citation needed]
The parish church of Santa Lucia, the former St. Maria in Pensulis, was once a Royal chapel and here prayed Margaret of Durazzo and King Ladislaus. It originally had Romanesque and Sicilian-Arab lines, but in 1456 it was rebuilt in Renaissance style and 1648 adapted to a Baroque one. The site has a Mediaeval pronaos with ancient fragments and figures of animals.
The Medieval Quarter of Gaeta is itself of interest. It lies on the steep sides of Mount Orlando and has characteristic houses from the 11th-13th centuries.
Gaeta is also the centre of the Regional Park of Riviera di Ulisse, which includes Mount Orlando, Gianola and the Scauri Mounts, and the two promontories of Torre Capovento and Tiberius' Villa in Sperlonga.
U.S. Navy base
View of Monte Orlando from a former anti-aircraft position on the harbour of Serapo. The Montagna Spaccata is the sharply vertical cliff on the right side of the promontory. The bastions of Charles V can be seen just in the lower left corner of the convent in the woods.
In 1967, the homeport of the U.S. Sixth Fleet flagship relocated from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Gaeta.[19] Support facilities were established in Mount Orlando. This was done following the transfer of the responsibilities of Lead Nation for NATO Naval Forces in the Mediterranean from the United Kingdom to the United States. The British Mediterranean Fleet was abolished - its former base in Malta was no longer exclusively under British control due to that nation having achieved independence from the UK.
The town is host to the families of the crews who work on the ship. There was a DOD school for American children and the US Naval Support Activity, Gaeta, which provided health care and other services until it was closed down in 2005. The NATO base itself was located on Monte Orlando, which overlooks the Gulf of Gaeta. It has recently been transferred to a shore-based facility where the Commander Sixth Fleet also operates.
Gaetans speak a dialect of Italian that, while similar to the nearby Neapolitan, is one of the few Italian dialects to preserve Latin's neuter gender.
Distinctive local cuisine includes the tiella, which resembles both a pizza and a salty crostata. Tiella can be made with several stuffings. Typical stuffings include diced squids with parsley, garlic, oil, hot pepper and just enough tomato sauce for colour. Other stuffings include endives and baccalà (dried and salted cods), eggs and courgettes, spinaches, rapini and sausages, ham and cheese. The town is also known for its distinctive brand of olives, marketed throughout the world (the main production, however, takes place in neighbouring Itri), and its beaches (Serapo, Fontania, Ariana, Sant'Agostino). Sciuscielle, mostaccioli, susamelli, and roccocò are also local desserts most often made during the Christmas season. A Latin text found in Gaeta dating from 997 AD contains the earliest known usage of the word "pizza".[20]
The most famous folklore event of Gaeta is Glie Sciusce of 31 December, in which bands of young Gaetani in traditional costumes head to the city's streets, playing mainly self-built instruments.
^Nicola Migliavacca, Il mausoleo di Lucio Atratino, in Gazzetta di Gaeta, vol. 3, 8 (38), Gaeta, La Poligrafica, agosto 1976, pp. 11-14
^Silvia Bullo, Provincia Africa: le città e il territorio dalla caduta di Cartagine a Nerone, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2002, ISBN 978-88-8265-168-8.
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