It was called Schiavi because it held the slaves of Caius Marius, the Roman leader of Arpino. Fontechiari a small medieval village, with steep, narrow streets around the fortified palace.
As its name suggests, given only in 1862, clear springs dot the territory of Fontechiari, a small gem of the Comino Valley, surrounded by walls, only partially preserved.
The 13th-century square tower of the Boncompagni family stands 25 m high, integrated in a defensive signalling system with the tower of Arpino and the castle of Vicalvi.
Medieval was also the church of SS. Giovanni Evangelista and Battista, renovated in the 18th century, which preserves 14th-century frescoes, a beautiful silver processional cross, and paintings attributed to Cavalier d’Arpino.
The sanctuary of the Madonna dei Fratelli is worth a visit, for the painting of the Madonna del Rosario by Cavalier d’Arpino and for the 13th-century wooden Christ of excellent workmanship, and the Hermitage of Sant’Onofrio, one of the most evocative in southern Lazio with a large cave and a fresco of the anchorite saint with scenes from his life in eight panels.
Not to be missed is the Napoleonic Cemetery, a unique example in central Italy; built in 1838 following the Napoleonic edict of Saint Cloud, it takes up the imperial model with a cylindrical shape, on two floors, with the addition of a ring of noble chapels, according to the plan preserved in the Municipal Historical Archive.
A characteristic of the Fontechiari area is the production of Pecorino di Picinsico DOP, a cheese that has maintained its breeding and production techniques unaltered over time due to the skill of shepherds and cheese-makers.