Isoletta
Isoletta is a village in Italy, in an area called Ciociaria part of the municipality of Arce, in the province of Frosinone, south of the Lazio region.
Geography
This small village is part of the municipality of Arce, itself 7 km north. It is bordered to the southeast by San Giovanni Incarico, southwest by Falvaterra and northwest of Ceprano.
The territory and the surroundings have rural B&B that allow full enjoyment of the beauty of the nature reserve stretching along the Liri River near Lake Isoletta, also called Lake San Giovanni Incarico. The reserve (Nature reserve Ancient cities of Fregellae and Fabrateria Nova and Lake of San Giovanni Incarico) was created in 1997, to preserve nature and historical places.
The lake was artificially produced in 1925 for hydroelectric use with Pontefiume Dam. The reservoir is subject to landfill processes and has an abundant production of aquatic vegetation, due to the organic material rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. The waters are heavily populated by fish (bleak, carp, roach, tench, crucian carp, italian nase, bream, trout-perch, perch-sun and scarcely trout, eels, stickleback and crayfish, due to pollution). The fish that populate the lake the most is bleak, with high fertility, and of 5–15 cm long. Instead, the most interesting fish for sport fishing is the carp, by its considerable size up to one meter in length and 15–20 kg weight, omnivorous, feeding on bottom organisms and algae. And the perch, as well, is represented, voracious predator, native to North America.[1]
The climate is typical of the Mediterranean region characterized by a wet and not too cold winters and a bit stuffy summers. Given the tranquility of the country, it is often the summer destination of the ancient inhabitants who have emigrated in the cities (Rome, Naples).
History
The town was occupied since prehistoric times, then by Italic people. Aurunci first, Volsci after, and is known for the Roman ruins of Fregellae.[2]
In the Middle Age, Isoletta was known as "Insula" (Isola) and "Insula Pontis Solarati" (Isola del Ponte Solarato),[3] and was settled on an island of the Liri river. The first fortification dates back to 702, when the Lombards of Benevento settled here a garrison for their raids in the Liri Valley (Arpino, Sora).
In 1046 the town was incorporated by Richard I in the heritage of the counts of Aquino. In addition, the counts of Ceccano and the abbey of Montecassino had also lands. In 1139, Pope Innocent II decreed a war against the King Roger I of Sicily, and in its invasion of southern Italy, his troops destroyed Isoletta.
Due to some family relationships between Aquinos and Celanos, the village entered the possessions of the latter, during the period in which the Celanos, natives of Abruzzo, were at the peak of their political and economic prestige . Thomas of Celano, head of the anti-Swabian conspiracy of the Chiavesignati,[4] organized and financed the construction of the first castle, and from here, with Ruggieri dell'Aquila, he organized the siege of Arce. The Chiavesignati having been defeated in Abruzzo, the Celanos[5] were forced to give all their conquests and properties beyond Marsica (Molise, Ciociaria) including Isoletta who became a possession of the local family, the Spinellos.
When Leonardo Della Rovere became Duke of Sora, in 1465, he obtained as concessions, Sora, Arce and Isoletta. He extented the old military structure and formed a real castle. For a short time the area was under the administration of William de Croÿ, before moving to Boncompagni in 1579.[3] After the reintegration of the Duchy of Sora in the Papal States, the Bourbon transformed the castle into a border fortress. Becoming a private property during the unification of Italy, the castle was destroyed during the fascism to make way for a private home[6]
The saint patron is Santa Maria della Vittoria, which was celebrated on the first sunday of October and since some years, is celebrated on the last sunday of August.
Archaeology
Isoletta is an important historical center where you can still see the remains of ancient civilizations that inhabited it.
Very important ruins of the Roman Empire in the Fregellae archaeological complex and a center of considerable importance for the rest of the Bourbon period, on the border between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, shows the importance of the place.
Inhabited since ancient times, they found everything from prehistoric remains, pre-Roman, Roman ruins (Fregellae), medieval and Bourbon. In the nearby Pofi Museum, the head of an elephant and the remains of objects of ancient civilizations are exposed. Located at the confluence of Liri and Sacco rivers, Isoletta has always been throughout its history of sufficient strategic importance.
Isoletta Castle
The Castle of the Sessile Oak of Isoletta or Castle of the Counts of Celano (Castello Della Rovere di Isoletta or Castello dei Conti di Celano), is a former military fortification, now destroyed, placed in the defensive system of the high Terra di Lavoro with castles Boncompagni-Viscogliosi of Isola del Liri, Rocca Campolato of Rocca d'Arce, and Arce. Even today, one can admire the bridge over the river Liri, which was used by customs, near the ancient castle of Isoletta.
Notable people
- Joseph A. Trillo, American politician from Rhode Island
See also
External links
References
- ↑ User, Super. "Lago di Isoletta di Arce". www.ciociariaturismo.it. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ↑ L'Italia antica: siti, musei e aree archeologiche (in Italian). Touring Editore. 2002-01-01. ISBN 9788836529391.
- 1 2 "La Ciociaria, storia, cultura, tradizione.". www.laciociaria.it. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ↑ Histoire de la Lutte des Papes et des Empereurs de la Maison de Souabe, de ses Causes et de ses Effets, ou Tableau de la Domination des Princes de Hohenstauffen dans le Royaume des Deux-Siciles (in French). H. L. Delloye. 1844-01-01.
- ↑ Memorie delle famiglie nobili delle province meridionali d'Italia raccolte dal conte Berardo Candida Gonzaga: 1 (in Italian). Stab. tip. De Angelis e figlio. 1875-01-01.
- ↑ Centra, Luigi (1996). Castelli di Ciociaria tra storia e leggenda (in Italian). Terracina: Tipografia Nuova Tirrena.
Centra L., Castelli di Ciociaria tra storia e leggenda, Tip. Nuova Tirrena, 1996 Terracina (in Italian)