Sermoneta

In 1297 the Caetani family purchased all of the belongings of the Annibaldi family, including the Castle of Sermoneta and the city of Ninfa.
Having come into possession of the Castle, they began powerful works of restructuring and expansion; of the ancient castle remains little more than a mass and powerful donjon tower. The castle saw its period of maximum splendor in 1400 when one of the most important residences for the noble family was constructed where they celebrated large parties and banquets in an immense reception hall for which today only remains a part.
In 1499, Pope Alessandro VI Borgia excommunicated the Caetani family and seized all of their goods: the castle of Sermoneta was entrusted to his daughter, the very famous Lucrezia Borgia.
The Borgia "kingdom" in central Italy lasted only four years and fell with the papal succession of Alessandro Vi with the bellicose Giulio II who gave back all of the possessions to the Caetani family.
Again in possession of the castle, however, the Caetani family found it extremely changed: in the few years in which the Borgias ruled, they had transformed it from a noble residence into a powerful military fort, full of trapdoors and secret passageways; even the famous reception hall had been "cut in half" to isolate the large donjon tower from the rest of the castle.
Excluding the brief period in which the Borgias had it, Sermoneta Castle was in the possession of the Caetanis from 1297 to 1977, when the family, without any more heirs, became extinct; the castle and Ninfa gardens were left in the hands of the Caetani Foundation, who let you visit and care for their maintenance.
Visits to the castle are guided, at set hours, and can only be conducted if there are more than two people.
The castle is not the only reason for taking a trip to this area: the town of Sermoneta, in fact, is a small jewel of medieval architecture that has remained particularly intact and escaped the building speculation which has devastated many historic areas of lower Lazio.
Plan for some time to take a stroll along the narrow streets of the town (not to miss is the Cathedral of Santa Maria, with its splendid belltower) and enjoy the medieval atmosphere and magnificent panoramas of the Pontina plains known to Sermoneta.