Arpino is one of the oldest centres in the province of Frosinone and is located about 100 km from Rome. Characterized by the Acropolis, in the fortified village of Civita Vecchia, visitors can admire an extraordinary ogival door with a pointed arch and almost half of the original city wall formed by cyclic stone blocks defined as, given their geometric shape, Polygonal Walls. The town nestles between two hills shaped like a harp and its position offers enchanting views of the surrounding area.
This dominant position made it a stronghold for the Volsci, the Samnites and the Romans and in the Middle Ages it was also chosen for its defensive features. After being part of the Roman Duchy, it was one of the lands conquered by the Normans, the Swabians and the Papacy, a fiefdom of the Counts of Aquinas and other French noble families. There were periods of great expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries until the Unification of Italy, when Arpino returned to the province of Caserta and only in 1927, to that of Frosinone.
The vast territory of Arpinia has given birth to such famous men as Marcus Tullius Cicero and Giuseppe Cesari, the Cavalier d’Arpino, who painted some works preserved in the city churches and whose Palace on Via Cesari can be visited. Also worth seeing is the 18th-century collegiate church of San Michele Arcangelo and the Palazzo Boncompagni, today the Town Hall.
The local cuisine is another of the Frosinone area’s great features to be found in the Food & Wine section.
