Gaeta (ancient Latin name Caieta) is a city in Province of Latina, in Lazio, Italy. 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.
| Città di Gaeta | |
|---|---|
| Province | Latina |
| Region | Lazio |
| Area | 28 km² |
| Altitude | 2m |
| Location | 41°13′N 13°34′E / 41.217°N 13.567°E |
| Population | 21,135 |
| Population density | 755 /km² |
| Name of inhabitants | Gaetani |
| Patron saint | Saint Erasmus (feast: June 2) |
| Mayor | Massimo Magliozzi (since May, 2002) |
| Official Site | www.gaeta.it |
History
According to Virgil's Aeneid (vii.1–9), Caieta was Aeneas’ wet-nurse, whom he buried here. According to Strabo the name stemmed from the Greek kaiétas, which means "cave", probably referring to the several harbours. In the classical age Caieta, like the neighbouring Formia and Sperlonga, was a tourist resort and site of the seaside villas 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.
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. Its history, however, is rather obscure until, around 830, it become a lordship ruled by hereditary Hypati, or consuls: the first one was Constantine (839–866), who was followed by Marino I and then Docibile I (867-906). Greatest of the Hypati was John I (906–933), who crushed the Saracens at Garigliano in 915 and gained the title of patricius from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII.
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. The town, however, maintained its own coinage as late as 1229. In 1227 Frederick II was in the city and strengthened the castle. However, in the struggle between the Frederick and the Papacy, Gaeta fell to the latter, and the Papal forces destroyed the imperial castle in the fray. 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 James 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.
Alfons I of Naples made Gaeta his beachhead for the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples in 1435. He enlarged the castle, which became his royal palace, and created a mint. In 1495 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 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.
On September 30, 1707 Gaeta was stormed and taken after a three months' siege by the Austrians under Daun. On 6 August, 1734 it was taken, after a siege 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 Masséna. On July 18, 1815 it capitulated, after a three months' siege, to the Austrians.
In November 1848 Pope Pius IX, after his flight in disguise from Rome, found a 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, the king, inspired by the heroic example of Queen Maria, 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,.
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 the city's 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 Garigliano 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 at 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.
Main sights
Main monuments of the city include:
- The massive Castle.
- The Mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus (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 Sanctuary of SS. Trinità, 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 Church of Annunziata (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 San Giovanni a Mare 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 Cathedral of Assunta and Sant'Erasmo. It 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 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 Giovan Filippo Criscuolo.
- The large church of St. Francis was constructed, according to the legend, by the Saint himself in 1222.
- The Cathedral has a great belfry, 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 ancien Roman architectural elements. The upper part, octagonal in plan, with small Romanesque arches with majolica decoration, was completed in 1279.
- The parish church of Santa Lucia, 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 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 Monte Orlando, Gianola and the Scauri Mounts, and the two promontories of Torre Capovento and that of Tiberius' Villa at Sperlonga.
Culture
Gaeta has erected a monument to Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), who according to many sources was born there (although other sources give Genoa). Other important people which was born in Gaeta include: Pope Gelasius II, writer and Papal diplomatic Tommaso De Vio, and the painters Giovanni da Gaeta, Giovan Filippo Criscuolo (c. 1500-1584), Scipione Pulzone (1550-1597) and Sebastiano Conca (1680-1764).
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).
External links
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public ___domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
