Originally a place of the
Aequi, and remaining a tiny hamlet until the 1st century AD, it became a refuge for people fleeing from
Saracen invasions in 800 AD, due to its mountainous location. In 1297 it fell under the control of Pietro Caetani, nephew of
Pope Boniface VIII, whose
family became notorious as cruel and oppressive, crushing various uprisings until the last of the Filettino Caetanis was executed in 1602 at
Castel Sant'Angelo in
Rome. In the same year it was entered by
Pope Clement VII into the
Apostolic Chamber and was thus subsequently absorbed into the
Papal States until the States themselves were annexed to the
Kingdom of Italy in 1870.
Campaign for independence In August 2011, following an Italian government announcement that all villages with under 1,000 residents would have to merge with nearby villages in order to cut administrative costs, forcing Filettino to merge with the neighbouring town of
Trevi nel Lazio, the village's then mayor Luca Sellari started a campaign for Filettino to become an "
independent state" and a
principality. == Notable people ==