Cantelmo Castle of Alvito

The Castle of Alvito: A Strategic Location on Mount Albeto

The Castle of Alvito stands on the top of “Monte Albeto,” so called since 970, a toponym that later gave rise to Albeto-Alvito in the 12th century. The castle's position is highly strategic: it controls the ancient routes heading north towards Abruzzo and west towards the Liri Valley and Sora, from the Comino Valley.

The evolution of Alvito: from S. Urbano to Borgo Castello

The town of Alvito, known in the early Middle Ages as S. Urbano, presumably founded in the 8th century during the Lombard era, was destroyed in the 9th century by the Saracens and later re-founded in 976 by Abbot Aligerno of Montecassino. Initially situated in the hilly area towards the north-east, called Colle di Civita, the town was later moved to its present location.

It dated back to the very ancient Samnite settlement that fell into the hands of the Romans at the end of the 4th century B.C., who later carried out the centuriazione (subdivision into a wide orthogonal road network) of the plain as far as the territories of Atina and Casalvieri, thus fostering a remarkable growth of the city, which, however, decayed and was no longer rebuilt on site after the violent earthquake of 1349.

The first fort, located where the present building stands, was built at the end of the 11th century, probably by the Counts of the Marsi, descendants of Lombard lineage. This first nucleus gave rise to the hamlet “Borgo Castello,” located in an easily defensible position.

The Castrum Albeti: A Military Citadel of the Counts of Aquino

With the passage of time, the town of St. Urban gradually became depopulated, replaced by small villages in the countryside, dependent on the powerful Abbey of Montecassino. Subsequently passed to the Counts of Aquino, probably thanks to a concession by the Benedictine monks (Abbot Desiderio, 1067), the “Castrum Albeti” became a solid military citadel, part of a network of fortifications ordered by the Norman sovereign Roger II (1095-1154) to defend the border of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The Dominion of the Cantelmo: Reconstruction and Growth of Alvito

In 1349, a violent earthquake caused the collapse of the fortified village and much of the original castle, resulting in the loss of the entire D'Aquino family, represented at the time by Adenolfo III. The Cantelmo took over the government of the territory of Avellino, supported by the Angevins who controlled southern Italy from the second half of the 13th century. Count Rostaino of the Cantelmo family began the reconstruction of the oppidum and manor house, entrusting the work to master builder Londolfo. The construction, which lasted for more than a century in alternating phases, created a fortress of remarkable military architecture.

The architecture of the grand Cantelmo Castle

Even today, the walls and parts of the circular towers of the grand Cantelmo castle are still clearly visible. The castle was a masterpiece of military architecture in the 14th-15th centuries. The walls were well defended and the circular towers protected the inner core inhabited by the feudal family. This period coincided with the maximum growth of the new town of Alvito, which developed at the foot of the mighty manor, reaching over ten thousand inhabitants.

These walls were intended to protect the town further down the valley, part of the restructuring ordered by the Cantelmo family in the 14th century. The inner core, housing the military garrison, can be recognised by the square towers. They may have been rebuilt on the remains of the primitive 11th century castle, connected by crenellated patrol walkways.

This area may have housed the central hall of the castle. The noble dwellings and state rooms were located in the area to the south towards the Comino Valley. The moat, which surrounded the fortress, is barely discernible, and medieval chronicles testify to the architectural devices used to trap besiegers between the outer walls and those of the inner keep.