Campodimele is a small town in the province of Latina, perched on a hill and surrounded by a ring of mountains near the merge point between the mountain chains of Aurunca and Ausonia. The name derives from the Latin "Campus Mellis (field of honey), not by chance the settlement arose in the VI century B.C. on the ruins of the ancient Latin city of Apiola (which etymologically derives from "bees"), destroyed by the King of Rome Tarquinius Priscus.
Since the VII century A. D. it was part of the Duchy of Fondi with Gaeta and the Abbey of Monte Cassino, to which its history is tied. In the XIII century, the domain was ceded to several noble families such as: the Dell'Aquila, the Caetani, the Colonna, the Miraballo and the Di Sangro, who ruled until the abolition of feudal rights (1806).
Its typical alleys and views retain characteristics that, recall the Italian Middle Ages but with the employment of Saracen Arab influences of the IX and X centuries.
Sites of Interest:
- the fortified city walls, composed of eleven rectangular and one circular towers and a central keep;
- the XI century Monastery of Sant' Onofrio, rebuilt by order of the Abbot Desiderio of Monte Cassino to the north of the original site. Destroyed by the bombing of the Second World War, it was refurbished in the 80s of the XX century and is a pilgrimage destination;
- the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, built on the highest point of the village, reachable only by foot, dates back to the XI century and probably stands on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple. Inside is preserved a marble tabernacle of the XV century, a valuable triptych of the XV century and another one of the XVII century.