(ancient Latin name ''Caieta'') is a city in
Province Of Latina , in
Lazio ,
Italy . It is located on a promontory stretching towards the
Gulf Of Gaeta , 120 from Rome and 80 Km from Naples.
The town has played a conspicuous part in military history: its fortifications date back to Roman times, and it has several traces of the period, including the first-century mausoleum of the Roman general
Lucius Munatius Plancus at the top of the Montagna Spaccata ("Split Mountain").
Gaeta's fortifications were extended and strengthened in the
15th Century , and indeed throughout the history of the
Kingdom Of Naples (later the
Two Sicilies ). Nowadays Gaeta is a fishing and oil
Seaport , and a renowned tourist resort.
NATO maintains a base of operations at Gaeta.
It is the ancient , situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean. Gaeta was an ancient Ionian colony of the
Samian s according to
Strabo , who believed the name stemmed from the Greek ''kaiétas'', which means "cave", probably referring to the several harbours.
According to
Virgil 's ''
Aeneid '' (vii.1–9), ''Caieta'' was
Aeneas ’ (another legend says or Ascanius') wet-nurse, whom he buried here.
In the classical age ''Caieta'', famous for its lovely and temperate climate, like the neighbouring
Formia and
Sperlonga , was a tourist resort and site of the seaside
Villa s of many important and rich characters of
Rome . Like the other Roman resorts, Caieta was linked to the capital of the
Empire by
Via Appia and its end trunk
Via Flacca (or Valeria) , through an apposite ''diverticulum'' or bye-road. Its port was of great importance in trade and in war, and was restored under Emperor
Antoninus Pius . Among its antiquities is the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus.
At the beginning of the
Middle Ages , after the
Lombards invasion, Gaeta remained under
Byzantine Empire suzerainty. 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 .
As Byzantine influence declined in Southern Italy the town began to grow. In 840 the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta through fear of the Saracens. 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 become a lordship ruled by hereditary '' (
839 –
866 ), who in 847 aided
Pope Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia. He was associated with his son
Marinus I . They were probably violently overthrown (they diappear suddenly from history) in
866 or
867 by
Docibilis I (
866 –
906 ), who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy. Nevertheless, he great expanded the duchy and began construction on the palace. Greatest of the ''hypati'' was possibly
John I (
906 –
933 ), 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 dynstys and Docibilis associated John with him and John in turn associated his son . On the death of Docibilis II (
954 ), who first took the title ''dux'', the duchy passes from its golden age and enters a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled Fondi with the equivalent title of duke.
Alledgedly, 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
11th Century the duchy fell into the hands of the
Norman counts of
Aversa , who were afterwards princes of
Capua ; in
1135 it was definitively annexed to his kingdom by
Roger Of Sicily . Yet the town maintained its own coinage as late as
1229 .
In the many wars for possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Gaeta, owing to its important strategic position, was often attacked as defended bravely.
In 1194 the
Pisa ns, allies of Henry VI in the conquest of the kingdom, took possession of the city and held it as their own.
In
1227 the Staufian
Frederick II Of Sicily was in the city and strengthened the castle. However, in the struggle between Emperor Frederick and the
Papacy , in 1228 it rebelled against Frederick II and surrendered to the pope, after the Papal forces destroyed the imperial castle in the fray. After the peace of San Germano of 1230, it was given back to the Sicilian kingdom. In
1233 , Frederick regained control of the important port and fortress. 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
Naples Ladislas lived in Gaeta from
1387 . Here, on
21 September , he married
Costanza Chiaramonte , whom he repudiated three years later.
King
Alfons 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 displayed great generosity, to his own disadvantage, by succouring those unable to bear arms who 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
1495 , king
Charles VIII Of France conquered the city and sacked it. The following year, however,
Frederick I Of Aragon regained it with a tremendous siege which lasted from
September 8 to
November 18 .
In 1501 Gaeta was retaken by the French, who, after the defeat of Garigliano (January 3, 1504), abandoned it to Gonsalvo de Cordova,
Ferdinand The Catholic 's general.
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, which also encompassed Monte Orlando.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, on
September 30 ,
1707 Gaeta was stormed and taken after a three months' siege by the
Austrians under
General Daun . On
6 August ,
1734 it was
Taken , after a stubborn resistance made by the Spanish viceroy of four months, by French, Spanish and Sardinian troops under the future
King Charles Of Naples . The fortifications were again strengthened; and in
1799 it was temporarily occupied by the French.
On
July 18 ,
1806 it was captured, after an heroic defence, by the French under
. It was created a
Duché Grand-fief in the napoleonic kingdom of Naples, but under the French name , for finance minister
Gaudin , in 1809 (family extinguished in 1841).
On July 18, 1815 it capitulated, after a three months' siege, to the Austrians.
In November
1848 Pope Pius IX , after his flight in from the
Roman Republic , found refuge at Gaeta, where he remained until
September 4 ,
1849 .
Finally, in
1860 , it was the scene of the
Last Stand of
Francis II Of The Two Sicilies against the forces of United Italy. Shut up in the fortress with 12,000 men, after
Garibaldi 's occupation of
Naples , inspired by the heroic example of Queen Maria, the king offered a stubborn resistance, and it was not till
February 13 ,
1861 that he was forced to capitulate after the withdrawal of the French fleet made bombardment from the sea possible, thus sealing the annexation of the Kingdom of Naples to the Kingdom of Italy.
Cialdini , the Piedmontese general, received the
Victory Title of ''Duke of 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 to Gaeta following
World War I .
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 . During World War II, the city retained its strategic importance for Mussolini and later for his Nazi allies. After the king dismissed Mussolini, the latter was initially taken via Gaeta to the island prison of
Ponza (where Mussolini had previously locked up many of his political enemies). To keep the population ignorant of the massive convoy, a false air-raid siren sounded. Mussolini would later be transferred to
Gran Sasso , from where the
Germans rescued him.
After Italy surrendered to the Allies, however, the town's fortunes began to decline. Recognizing its strategic importance, and fearful of an Allied landing in the area, German troops occupied the city and expelled most of the population. The zone of exclusion began with a five-kilometre border 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 were placed in a concentration camp, and a few were taken to Germany.
Following the Allied advance across the 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.
The episcopal see of Gaeta dates from 846, when Constantine, Bishop of Formiæ, fled thither and established his residence. The see of Formiæ, abandoned since the end of the sixth century, was thereafter united to that of
Minturno (Minturnæ).
In 1818
Pius VII joined to Gaeta the very ancient see of
Fondi . It was once a suffragan of
Capua , then exempt (directly subject to the pope).
Pius IX raised it to archiepiscopal rank, but without suffragans. Among its bishops of note were: Francesco Patrizio (1460), friend of Pius II, author of a work in nine books, ''De Regno et De Institutione Regis'', dedicated to Alfonso, Duke of Calabria; and Tommaso de Vio, better known as the famous Cardinal Cajetan. The Archdiocese of Gaeta had in the early 20th century 42 parishes with 83,600 faithful, 3 monasteries for men, 9 convents for women, and 2 Catholic weekly papers. For current statistics and a list of the archbishops since 1848, see http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dgaet.html
Main monuments of the city include:
- The massive .
- The ( 22 BC ) is a cylindrical Travertine monument at the top of Monte Orlando (168 m). It stands at 13.20m and has a diameter of 29.50 m. Another important Roman public man, Lucius Sempronius Atratinus , Marc Antony 's fleet commander, has a mausoleum, sited in the more recent district of Gaeta: of similar diamater, it is however not as well preserved.
- The , 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.
- The ( 1320 ), was rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century in Baroque style by Andrea Lazzari . It houses works by Luca Giordano , Sebastiano Conca and Giacinto Brandi , as well as the sarcophagus of Enrico Caracciolo, a notable Gothic work of art. The most interesting sight is however the '''Golden Grotto''', a Renaissance room where Pope Pius IX devised the Dogma of Papal Infallibility . The walls of the grotto are decorated with 19 panels by Giovan Filippo Criscuolo ( 1531 ) into carved and gilded frames with small pilasters. On the altarpiece is an ''Immacolata'' by Scipione Pulzone .
- Church of was built by the hypate Giovanni IV in the 10th Century , outside the old sea walls of the city. It is a rare example of fusion between 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 after sea floods.
- The of '''Assunta and Sant'Erasmo''' was erected over a more ancient church, Santa Maria del Parco, and consecrated by 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 Giovan Filippo Criscuolo . The cathedral contains the relics of St. Erasmus , transferred from Formiæ ; the campanile, in Norman style, dates from 1279.
- The Cathedral has a great , standing at 57 m, which is considered the city's finest piece of art. The base has two marble lions, and the whole construction made large reuse of 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 the moment of our Saviour's death.
- The large church of , according to the legend constructed by the Saint himself in 1222 , was in fact built by Frederick II, in very fine Gothic-Italian style, and contains paintings and sculpture by many of the most famous Neapolitan artists.
- The parish church of , the former ''St. Maria in Pensulis'', was once a Royal chapel and here prayed Margherita Of Durazzo and king Ladislas . It had originally Romanesque and Sicilian-Arab lines, but in the 1456 it was rebuilt in Renaissance style, and in 1648 adapted to a Baroque one. The side has a Mediaeval '' Pronaos '' with ancient fragments and figures of animals.
- The 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 , which includes Monte Orlando,
Gianola and the
Scauri Mounts , and the two promontories of Torre Capovento and that of
Tiberius ' Villa at
Sperlonga .
Gaeta has erected a monument to Giovanni Caboto ( and the painters
Giovanni Da Gaeta ,
Giovan Filippo Criscuolo (c. 1500-
1584 ), and
Scipione Pulzone (
1550 -
1597 ).
Gaetani 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 calzone. The tiella can be made with a number of stuffings. Typical stuffings include diced calamari with parsley, garlic, oil, hot pepper and just enough tomato sauce for color. Other stuffings include escarole and baccalà (dried codfish), egg and zucchini, spinach, and ham and cheese.
Sciuscielle, mostaccioli, susamelli, and roccocò are also local desserts most often made during the Christmas season.
The most famous folklore event of Gaeta is ''Gliu Sciuscio'' of
December 31 , in which bands of young Gaetani in traditional costumes head to the city's streets, playing mainly self-built instruments.
The town is also notable 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).
