Sermoneta is a hill town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Latina The province of Latina () is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Latina. It is bordered by the provinces of Frosinone to the northeast and by the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital to the northwest. ...

(

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

), central Italy. It is a walled hill town, with a 13th-century Romanesque church, the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta (sometimes erroneously called a cathedral) and a massive castle, built by the Annibaldi family then purchased and expanded by Caetani family in the 13th century. The Cistercian

Valvisciolo Abbey Valvisciolo Abbey is a Cistercians, Cistercian monastery in the province of Latina, central Italy, near the towns of Sermoneta and Norma, Lazio, Ninfa. It is an example of rigorous romanesque architecture, Romanesque-Cistercian architecture, cons ...

is located nearby. The churches of San Giuseppe (mainly 16th century) and San Michele (mainly 12th century) still stand. A Jewish community engaged in the commerce of fish and lending is attested there from the 13th to the 16th centuries, when the community was removed following

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

of expulsion, ''Hebraeorum gens sola'' (1569), which restricted Jewish residency to Rome and

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

.Sermoneta
Italia Judaica Sermoneta is the hometown of the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Aldo Manuzio Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preservation of Greek manusc ...

and eighteenth-century painter Antonio Cavallucci. Scenes of the 2007 film ''

Silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

'' featuring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

were filmed in Sermoneta. The 2015 short film ''Italian Miracle'' was filmed in the town. In 1978, an episode of Return of the Saint was filmed there: the town was known as Santa Maria.

Notable residents

* Girolamo Siciolante (1521-1575), painter; * Fabritio Caroso (1526/1535 – 1605/1620), Renaissance dancing master, poet, and author of dancing manuals; * Antonio Cavallucci (1752–95), painter; * Marguerite Caetani and (1932–c.1945); * Ubaldo Righetti (1963- ), retired football player; * Cesare Battisti (1954- ), ex terrorist; * Elena Santarelli (1981- ), actress;

Twin towns

Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

, Italy *

Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye Saint Antoine l'Abbaye (, before 1991: ''Saint-Antoine''), also Saint-Antoine-en-Viennois, is a Communes of France, commune in the Isère departments of France, department in southeastern France. On 31 December 2015 the former commune of Diona ...

, France *

Atalanti Atalanti ( ''Atalantē'') is the second largest town in Phthiotis, Greece. It is located southeast of Lamia (city), Lamia, north of Livadeia and northwest of Chalcis. In 2011, it was incorporated into the municipality of Lokroi (mu ...

, Greece

References

Hilltowns in Lazio {{Lazio-geo-stub