Monte San Biagio ( Southern Laziale: ''Muntciegl'') is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Latina The Province of Latina ( it, Provincia di Latina) is an area of local government at the level of province in the Republic of Italy. It is one of five provinces that form the region of Lazio. The provincial capital is the city of Latina. It is bo ...

, in southern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). It is located on the slope of a hill part of the

Monti Ausoni The Monti Ausoni or Ausoni Mountains constitute a mountain range in southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea. They are bounded to the north by the Monti L ...

. Until 1862 it was known as Monticello.

History and main sights

The Roman presence in Monte San Biagio's territory is testified by the presence of a mausoleum attributed to Emperor Galba, a native of the area, but which probably belonged to Sextus Iulius Frontinus, who had a great villa in the vicinity. The Romans defeated the Samnites here, at the Passo della Portella: in the place a fortified gate was built, which was later used as the border customs of the Kingdom of Naples. Nearby is a watchtower from the period of Pope Sixtus V. The origins of the modern town date back to the Middle Ages, when a castle was built here (over the Roman ruins), firstly as a stronghold of the

Duchy of Gaeta The Duchy of Gaeta was an early medieval state centered on the coastal South Italian city of Gaeta. It began in the early ninth century as the local community began to grow autonomous as Byzantine power lagged in the Mediterranean and the penin ...

, and later of the Duchy of

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

. The first document mentioning the ''Castrum Monticelli'', however, dates from 1099, from the archives of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

. In the following centuries it was a fief of Fondi, a possession of the dell'Aquila family from 1145. Later it was ruled by the

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politic ...

, the

Carafa Carafa is a surname held by: * Tony Carafa, Australian rules footballer * Members of the house of Carafa The House of Carafa or Caraffa is the name of an old and influential Neapolitan aristocratic family of Italian nobles, clergy, and men of a ...

, the Mansfeld and the Di Sangro, as part of the Kingdom of Naples. In the winter of 1788 the town was sacked by the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

, while, after the Bourbon restoration and the subsequent

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, the neighbourhood was the base of brigandage. In 1862 the name was changed to Monte San Vito and, soon thereafter, to the current Monte San Biagio.

Transportation

Monte San Biagio lies next to the

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...

, once the main road from Rome to Campania. It is also connected by a branch of the

Via Flacca The ''Via Flacca'' was a Roman road along the western coast of Latium, Italy. It was built under censor Lucius Valerius Flaccus around 184 BC. Parts of it have recently been renovated as a trekking route. It was probably built to serve the to ...

from Terracina to Gaeta. The town is served by a railway station on the mainline between Rome and Naples.

Traditions and gastronomic specialities

There are several dishes particular to Monte San Biagio, some using shrimp from the local lakes, and wild asparagus. The pork sausages are particularly distinctive, usually handmade from the meat and lard of the pig, mixed with chilli pepper and coriander seed. It is also home to of

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...

woods, one of the few areas of production outside of Sardinia. The communes of Monte San Biagio,

Sonnino Sonnino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is the birthplace of Italian national team footballer Alessandro Altobelli, and Roman Catholic archbishop Velasio de Paolis. History Originati ...

and

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

itself are those sanctioned to produce Moscato di Terracina wines, the finest of which come from vineyards on the southeast-facing slopes of the coastal hills. The plains of Monte San Biagio, south of

, are primarily used for agriculture including the growth of

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

pears Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

citrus fruits ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

, and many types of vegetables.

Climate

Monte San Biagio has a Mediterranean climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: Csa),with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters.

Twin cities

* Saint-Romain-le-Puy, France *

Übersee Übersee is a municipality in the rural district of Traunstein in upper Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the south shore of lake Chiemsee. Geography Geographic Location Übersee is located in the Chiemgau, more precisely at the northern entrance ...

, Germany

References

Cities and towns in Lazio {{Latium-geo-stub