| Gaeta | |
| Official Name: | Comune di Gaeta |
| Native Name: | Gaieta |
| Coordinates: | 41.2167°N 47°W |
| Region: | Lazio |
| Province: | Latina (LT) |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Demonym: | Gaetani |
| Saint: | Saint Erasmus |
| Day: | 2 June |
Gaeta (pronounced as /it/; Latin: Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: Gaieta) is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120km (80miles) from Rome and 80km (50miles) from Naples.
The town has played a conspicuous part in military history; its walls date to Roman times and were extended and strengthened in the 15th century, especially throughout the history of the Kingdom of Naples (later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).
Present-day Gaeta is a fishing and oil seaport and a renowned tourist resort. NATO maintains a naval base of operations at Gaeta.
See main article: Caietae Portus. Ancient Caieta was situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was inhabited by the Oscan-speaking Italic tribe of the Aurunci by the 10th-9th century BC. Only in 345 BC did the territory of Gaeta come under Rome's influence.[2]
Caieta with its ltemperate climate[3] like the neighbouring Formia and Sperlonga, became one of the earliest locations of villae maritimae, seaside villas and luxurious retreats for the Roman elite owned, for example, by Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC) and Gaius Laelius.[4] Caieta was also linked to the capital of the Roman Empire by the Appian Way and its extension the Via Flacca.
The remains of the monumental villa[5] of Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul 56 BC), stepfather of Augustus, are in Hotel Irlanda in the Arcella area.[6] Lucius Munatius Plancus (consul in 42 BC) had a vast villa located on Monte Orlando overlooking the Gulf of Gaeta. His mausoleum, built at the end of the 1st century BC, is still an impressive monument inside a large clearing within the villa.[7]
Lucius Sempronius Atratinus probably lived here as indicated by his mausoleum.[8] Atratinus was suffect Consul in 40 and 34 BC, propraetor in Greece in 39 BC, and first admiral of Mark Antony's fleet from 38-34 BC.[9]
In the Roman imperial age it continued as a popular resort for many important and rich characters of Rome. Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96 AD) also had a villa in the area.[10]
Emperor Antoninus Pius restored the port, given its strategic relevance.[11]
Remains of an aqueduct that supplied the town from the Conca hill can be seen a few metres from the villa of Hortensius.[12] [13]
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, after the Lombard invasion, Gaeta remained under the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. 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. For fear of the Saracens, in 840, the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta. 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 became a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati or consuls: The first of these was Constantine (839–866), who in 847 aided Pope Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia. At this same time (846), the episcopal see of Gaeta was founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence. He was associated with his son Marinus I. They were probably violently overthrown (they disappeared suddenly from history) in 866 or 867 by Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy. Nevertheless, he greatly expanded the duchy and began the construction of the palace. The greatest of the hypati was possibly John I, 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 dynasties: Docibilis I associated John with him, and John, in turn, associated his son Docibilis II with him. In 933, three generations were briefly co-ruling: John I, Docibilis II, and John II. On the death of Docibilis II (954), who first took the title dux, the duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled Fondi with the equivalent title of duke. Outlying lands and castles were given away to younger sons, and thus the family of the Docibili slowly declined after the mid-century.
Allegedly, but improbably, 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 mid-10th century, the De Ceremoniis of Constantine VII lists the ceremonial title "prince of Gaeta" among the protocols for letters written to foreigners.[14]
Prince Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles. In 1038, Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno took it from him and, in 1041, established the Norman counts of Aversa, who were afterwards princes of Capua, as puppet dukes. The native dynasty made a last attempt to wrest the duchy from Guaimar in 1042 under Leo I of Gaeta.
In 1045, the Gaetans elected their Lombard duke, Atenulf I. His son, Atenulf II, was made to submit to the Norman Prince Richard I of Capua in 1062 when Gaeta was captured by Jordan I of Capua. In 1064, the city was placed under a line of puppet dukes, appointed by the Capuan princes, who had usurped the ducal and consular titles. These dukes, usually Italianate Normans, ruled Gaeta with some level of independence until the death of Richard III of Gaeta in 1140. In that year, Gaeta was definitively annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily by Roger II, who bestowed on his son Roger of Apulia, who was duly elected by the nobles of the city. The town did maintain its coinage until as late as 1229 after the Normans had been superseded by the centralising Hohenstaufen.
Gaeta, owing to its important strategic position, was often attacked and defended bravely in the many wars for possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1194 the Pisans, allies of Emperor Henry VI in the conquest of the kingdom, took possession of the city and held it as their own.
In 1227, Frederick II, who was King of Sicily since 1198, was in the city and strengthened the castle. However, in the struggle between Frederick and the Papacy, in 1228, it rebelled against Frederick II and surrendered to the pope after the Papal forces destroyed the castle in the fray. After the peace of San Germano of 1230, it was returned to the Sicilian kingdom. In 1233, Frederick regained control of the important port and fortress. Following the division between the Kingdom of Sicily, Gaeta became a possession of the new Kingdom of Naples. 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 Ladislaus lived in Gaeta from 1387. Here, on 21 September, he married Costanza Chiaramonte, whom he repudiated three years later.
King Alfonso 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 to his disadvantage, displayed great generosity by aiding those unable to bear arms which 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 1451 the city was home to the Treaty of Gaeta, stipulated between Alfonso V and the Albanian lord, Skanderbeg: the treaty ensured protection of the Albanian lands in exchange for political suzerainty of Skanderbeg to Alfonso.
In 1495, King Charles VIII of France conquered the city and sacked it. The following year, however, Frederick of Naples regained it with a tremendous siege which lasted from 8 September to 18 November. In 1501 Gaeta was retaken by the French; however, after their defeat at the Garigliano (3 January 1504), they abandoned it to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Ferdinand II of Aragon'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 encompassing Monte Orlando.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, on 30 September 1707, Gaeta was stormed and taken after a three-month siege by the Austrians under General Daun. On 6 August 1734, it was taken by French, Spanish and Sardinian troops under the future King Charles III of Spain after a stubborn defence by the Austrian viceroy of four months. Charles' daughter Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain was born here in 1744. The fortifications were again strengthened; in 1799, the French temporarily occupied it.
On 18 July 1806, the French captured it under André Masséna, after a heroic defence. It was created as a duché grand-fief in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, but under the French name Gaète, for finance minister Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, in 1809 (family extinguished in 1841). On 8 August 1815, it capitulated to the Austrians after a three-months siege. It had been attacked and partially reduced by ships of the Royal Navy on 24 July 1815.
After his flight from the Roman Republic, Pope Pius IX took refuge at Gaeta in November 1848. He remained in Gaeta until 4 September 1849.
On 1 August 1849, USS Constitution while in port at Gaeta, received onboard King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX, giving them a 21-gun salute. This was the first time a Pope set foot on American territory or its equivalent.Finally, in 1860, Gaeta was the scene of the last stand of Francis II of the Two Sicilies against the forces of United Italy. The king offered a stubborn defence, shut up in the fortress with 12,000 men and was inspired by the heroic example of Queen Maria Sophie after Giuseppe Garibaldi's occupation of Naples. It was not until 13 February 1861 that Francis II was forced to capitulate when 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. Enrico Cialdini, the Piedmontese general, received the victory title of Duke of Gaeta. During the functioning of the Government of Montenegro in exile from 1919 to 1924, that supported the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty and opposed the rule of the house of Karađorđević in Yugoslavia (The Greens) were located in 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 with Gaeta following World War I. Benito 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.
After the king dismissed Mussolini in the summer of 1943, the latter was initially taken via Gaeta to the island prison of Ponza. After Italy surrendered to the Allies, however, the town's fortunes began to decline. Recognizing its strategic importance and fearing an Allied landing in the area, German troops occupied the city and expelled most of the population. The exclusion zone extended five kilometres 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 be placed in a concentration camp and a few were taken to Germany.
Following the Allied advance across the Garigliano River 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 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.
Gaeta does have a viable tourism industry, as it is a popular seaside resort. Its warm, rain-free summers attract people to its numerous beaches along the coastline, such as Serapo and Sant'Agostino's beaches. Nearly equidistant to Naples and Rome, Gaeta is a popular summer tourist destination for people from both cities' metropolitan areas.
The main attractions of the city include:
Gaeta is also the centre of the Regional Park of Riviera di Ulisse, which includes Mount Orlando, Gianola and the Scauri Mounts, and the two promontories of Torre Capovento and Tiberius' Villa in Sperlonga.
In 1967, the homeport of the U.S. Sixth Fleet flagship relocated from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Gaeta.[16] Support facilities were established in Mount Orlando. This was done following the transfer of the responsibilities of Lead Nation for NATO Naval Forces in the Mediterranean from the United Kingdom to the United States. The British Mediterranean Fleet was abolished - its former base in Malta was no longer exclusively under British control due to that nation having achieved independence from the UK.
It is currently used as the home port for the flagship of the United States Sixth Fleet. The Sixth Fleet commander, typically a 3-Star US Navy Vice-Admiral, has operational control of Naval task forces, battle groups, amphibious forces, support ships, land-based surveillance aircraft, and submarines in the Mediterranean Sea. Gaeta's role has been important since the early 19th century to the US Navy's commitment to forward presence. Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, paid visits to the while in Gaeta in 1849. Nine ships have been stationed in Gaeta, with the primary mission of serving as the flagship for the Sixth Fleet commander. The first was the . Other Sixth Fleet flagships included,,,, and . The current flagship is the .
The town is host to the families of the crews who work on the ship. There was a DOD school for American children and the US Naval Support Activity, Gaeta, which provided health care and other services until it was closed down in 2005. The NATO base itself was located on Monte Orlando, which overlooks the Gulf of Gaeta. It has recently been transferred to a shore-based facility where the Commander Sixth Fleet also operates.
Gaeta has erected a monument to John Cabot, who discovered Canada in 1500. Other people associated with the town include the painters Giovanni da Gaeta and Giovanni Filippo Criscuolo. For a full list, see People from Gaeta.
Gaetans 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 salty crostata. Tiella can be made with several stuffings. Typical stuffings include diced squids with parsley, garlic, oil, hot pepper and just enough tomato sauce for colour. Other stuffings include endives and baccalà (dried and salted cods), eggs and courgettes, spinaches, rapini and sausages, ham and cheese. The town is also known 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). Sciuscielle, mostaccioli, susamelli, and roccocò are also local desserts most often made during the Christmas season. A Latin text found in Gaeta dating from 997 AD contains the earliest known usage of the word "pizza".[17]
The most famous folklore event of Gaeta is Glie Sciusce of 31 December, in which bands of young Gaetani in traditional costumes head to the city's streets, playing mainly self-built instruments.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy.
Gaeta is twinned with:
Cambridge, United States, since 1982[18] [19]
Frontignan, France Mobile, United States[20] Somerville, United States
Cetinje, Montenegro, since 2012