Torre Cajetani is a small town built around a immense castle on top of a hill, about 90 km from Rome.
The town around the tower from which it takes its name is thought to have been founded around the 10th century.
The oldest parchment that mentions the town dates back to 1180 and documents the defence agreement signed by the local lords.
Following that event the Cajetani family, in particular, Roffredo, brother of Pope Boniface VIII, and then his son Pietro Cajetani, made a series of acquisitions. In 1303, Boniface VIII approved all the purchases made by Pietro Cajetani in the Marittima and Campagna areas.
In the Torre area, in the village of Fontanelle, you can still find the mineral water spring that the so-called cursori used on their way to Rome.
Several parts of the rectangular-shaped Castle rest directly on the bedrock, centred around the keep that dominates over the town. The old town has narrow streets, stairways, gates and squares that are characteristic of medieval settlements.
The Church of Santa Maria in the centre of the town, first mentioned in the register of tithes in 1295, is a typical medieval building, despite undergoing a baroque-style renovation in the early 19th century.
Just outside the town, on the road to Fiuggi, there is Cerano Lake.
Torre Cajetani, used as a base for hiking in the nearby mountains that separate it from Altipiani di Arcinazzo, offers the visitor a wonderful panorama of Valle Anticolana and Piana di Canterno and the boundless scenery of Valle del Sacco, up to the Lepini mountains.
For more information: Comune di Torre Cajetani