Esperia is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area o ...

in the Italian region

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

, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the ...

. It is located within the

Monti Aurunci The Monti Aurunci (or Aurunci Mountains) is a mountain range of southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it forms the promontory of Gaeta. It is boun ...

Natural Park.

History

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

Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term '' colony''. Character ...

Interamna Lirenas Interamna Lirenas was an ancient Roman colony near the current Pignataro Interamna, in the southern province of Frosinone, central Italy. Modern archaeological excavations at the site commenced in 2010. History Interamna Lirenas was founded in 31 ...

, although the first historically documented human presence dates to the foundation of several monasteries, with the annexed boroughs, by the

Abbey of Montecassino An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

(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 or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Esperia was one of the towns suffering heavily from "

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. These were committed mainly by the Moroccan Goumiers, colonial troops of the French Expeditionary Corps ...

" - the mass rape committed after the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

Goumier The Moroccan Goumiers (french: Les Goumiers Marocains) were indigenous Moroccan soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. While nominally in the service of the Sultan of Morocco, they s ...

s, Moroccan

colonial troops Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various military units recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories. Colonial background Such colonies may lie overseas or in areas dominated by neighbouring land powers such ...

of the French Expeditionary Corps. 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.

Johnny Roselli John "Handsome Johnny" Roselli (born Filippo Sacco; July 4, 1905 – August 7, 1976), sometimes spelled Rosselli, was an influential mobster for the Chicago Outfit who helped that organization control Hollywood and the Las Vegas Strip. In the ear ...

, infamous American mobster, was born in Esperia in 1905; his real name being Filippo Sacco.

Main sights

The church of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Filippo Neri in Esperia Superiore houses a painting by Taddeo Zuccari and a 1521 bas-relief. The Baroque Lauretana Chapel, in Esperia Inferiore dedicated to the ''Madonna di Loreto'' has a 16th-century wooden Madonna and several paintings by

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) 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. Earl ...

. Other churches include ''San Pietro '' in Esperia Inferiore, ''San Donato'' on Monte D'Oro, ''Santa Maria di Montevetro'' on Monte Montevetro (with 15th-century frescoes) and the 16th-century Sanctuary of ''Madonna delle Grazie'', located near the remains of the castle, ''Santa Maria Maggiore'' in Monticelli, ''San Francesco'' adjoined to the Casa di Riposo in Esperia Superiore, ''Santa Rosa'' located in Badia di Esperia. The ancient monastery of ''San Pietro in Foresta'' located in Monticelli, now only a tower remains today. Dinosaur footprints were discovered in 2006 in the locality of San Martino.

References

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