Ancient times Ancient Caieta was situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the
Mediterranean Sea. It was inhabited by the
Oscan-speaking Italic tribe of the
Aurunci tribe by the 10th-9th century BC. Only in 345 BC did the territory of Gaeta come under Rome's influence. Caieta, with its temperate climate like the neighbouring
Formia and
Sperlonga, became one of the earliest locations of
villae maritimae, seaside
villas and luxurious retreats for the Roman elite owned, for example, by
Scipio Africanus (236–183 BC) and
Gaius Laelius. Caieta was also linked to the capital of the
Roman Empire by the
Appian Way and its extension the
Via Flacca. The remains of the monumental villa of
Lucius Marcius Philippus, stepfather of
Augustus, are in Hotel Irlanda in the Arcella area.
Lucius Munatius Plancus (consul in 42 BC) had a vast villa located on Monte Orlando overlooking the Gulf of Gaeta. His mausoleum, built at the end of the 1st century BC, is still an impressive monument inside a large clearing within the villa.
Lucius Sempronius Atratinus probably lived here as indicated by his
mausoleum. Atratinus was
suffect Consul in 40 and 34 BC,
propraetor in
Greece in 39 BC, and first admiral of
Mark Antony's fleet from 38–34 BC. In the
Roman imperial age, it continued as a popular seaside resort for many important and rich characters of
Rome. Emperor
Domitian (r. 81–96 AD) also had a villa in the area. Emperor
Antoninus Pius restored the port, given its strategic relevance. Remains of an aqueduct that supplied the town from the Conca hill can be seen a few metres from the villa of
Hortensius.
Middle Ages At the beginning of the
Middle Ages, after the
Lombard invasion, Gaeta remained under the
suzerainty of the
Byzantine Empire. In the following years, like
Amalfi,
Sorrento and
Naples did, it would seem to have established itself as a practically independent port and to have carried on a thriving trade with the
Levant. As Byzantine influence declined in Southern Italy, the town began to grow. For fear of the
Saracens, in 840, the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta. Though under the suzerainty of Byzantium, Gaeta had then, like nearby ports
Naples and
Amalfi, a republican form of government with a
dux ("duke" or commanding lord under the command of the Byzantine
Exarch of Ravenna), as a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion. Around 830, it became a lordship ruled by hereditary
hypati or
consuls: The first of these was
Constantine (839–866), who in 847 aided
Pope Leo IV in the
naval fight at Ostia. At this same time (846), the episcopal
see of Gaeta was founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence. He was associated with his son
Marinus I. They were probably violently overthrown (they disappeared suddenly from history) in 866 or 867 by
Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the
papacy. Nevertheless, he greatly expanded the duchy and began the construction of the palace. The greatest of the
hypati was possibly
John I, who helped crush the Saracens at
Garigliano in 915 and gained the title of
patricius from the Byzantine Emperor
Constantine VII. The principle of
co-regency governed the early dynasties: Docibilis I associated John with him, and John, in turn, associated his son
Docibilis II with him. In 933, three generations were briefly co-ruling:
John I,
Docibilis II, and
John II. On the death of Docibilis II (954), who first took the title
dux, the
duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled
Fondi with the equivalent title of duke. Outlying lands and castles were given away to younger sons, and thus the family of the Docibili slowly declined after the mid-century. Allegedly, but improbably, from the end of the 9th century, the
principality of Capua claimed Gaeta as a courtesy title for the younger son of its ruling prince. In the mid-10th century, the
De Ceremoniis of
Constantine VII lists the ceremonial title "prince of Gaeta" among the protocols for letters written to foreigners. Prince
Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke
John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles. In 1038, Prince
Guaimar IV of Salerno took it from him and, in 1041, established the
Norman counts of Aversa, who were afterwards princes of
Capua, as
puppet dukes. The native dynasty made a last attempt to wrest the duchy from Guaimar in 1042 under
Leo I of Gaeta. In 1045, the Gaetans elected their Lombard duke,
Atenulf I. His son,
Atenulf II, was made to submit to the Norman Prince
Richard I of Capua in 1062 when Gaeta was captured by
Jordan I of Capua. In 1064, the city was placed under a line of puppet dukes, appointed by the Capuan princes, who had usurped the ducal and
consular titles. These dukes, usually Italianate Normans, ruled Gaeta with some level of independence until the death of
Richard III of Gaeta in 1140. In that year, Gaeta was definitively annexed to the
Kingdom of Sicily by
Roger II, who bestowed on his son
Roger of Apulia, who was duly elected by the nobles of the city. The town did maintain its
coinage until as late as 1229 after the Normans had been superseded by the centralising
Hohenstaufen. Gaeta, owing to its important strategic position, was often attacked and defended bravely in the many wars for possession of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1194, the
Pisans, allies of
Emperor Henry VI in the conquest of the kingdom, took possession of the city and held it as their own. In 1227,
Frederick II, who was
King of Sicily since 1198, was in the city and strengthened the castle. However, in the struggle between Frederick and the
Papacy, in 1228, it rebelled against Frederick II and surrendered to the pope after the Papal forces destroyed the castle in the fray. After the peace of San Germano of 1230, it was returned to the Sicilian kingdom. In 1233, Frederick regained control of the important port and fortress. Following the division between the Kingdom of Sicily, Gaeta became a possession of the new
Kingdom of Naples. In 1279,
Charles I of Anjou rebuilt the castle and enhanced the fortifications. In 1289, King
James II of Aragon besieged the city in vain. From 1378, Gaeta hosted for some years
antipope Clement VII. The future King of
Naples Ladislaus lived in Gaeta from 1387. Here, on 21 September, he married
Costanza Chiaramonte, whom he repudiated three years later. King
Alfonso V of Aragon (as Alfonso I of Naples) made Gaeta his beachhead for the conquest of the
Kingdom of Naples in 1435, besieged it, and to his disadvantage, displayed great generosity by aiding those unable to bear arms which had been driven out from the besieged town. After a disastrous naval battle, he captured it and gained control of the kingdom. He enlarged the castle, which became his royal palace, and created a mint. In 1451, the city was home to the
Treaty of Gaeta, stipulated between
Alfonso V and the
Albanian lord,
Skanderbeg: the treaty ensured protection of the Albanian lands in exchange for political suzerainty of Skanderbeg to Alfonso.
Modern era In 1495, King
Charles VIII of France conquered the city and sacked it. The following year, however,
Frederick of Naples regained it with a tremendous siege which lasted from 8 September to 18 November. In 1501, Gaeta was retaken by the French; however, after their
defeat at the Garigliano (3 January 1504), they abandoned it to
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba,
Ferdinand II of Aragon's general. In 1528,
Andrea Doria, admiral of
Charles V, defeated a French fleet in the waters off Gaeta and gave the city to its emperor. Gaeta was thenceforth protected with a new and more extensive wall encompassing Monte Orlando. In the
War of the Spanish Succession, on 30 September 1707, Gaeta was stormed and taken after a
three-month siege by the
Austrians under
General Daun. On 6 August 1734, it was
taken by French, Spanish and Sardinian troops under the future
King Charles III of Spain after a stubborn defence by the Austrian
viceroy of four months. Charles' daughter
Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain was born here in 1744. The fortifications were again strengthened; in 1799, the French temporarily occupied it. On 18 July 1806, the French captured it under
André Masséna, after a heroic defence. It was created as a
duché grand-fief in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, but under the French name
Gaète, for finance minister
Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, in 1809 (family extinguished in 1841). On 8 August 1815, it capitulated to the Austrians after a three-months siege. It had been attacked and partially reduced by ships of the Royal Navy on 24 July 1815. After his flight from the
Roman Republic,
Pope Pius IX took refuge at Gaeta in November 1848. He remained in Gaeta until 4 September 1849. On 1 August 1849,
USS Constitution while in port at Gaeta, received onboard
King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX, giving them a 21-gun salute. This was the first time a
Pope set foot on American territory or its equivalent. In 1860, Gaeta was the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies' last Northern outpost. During the
1861 siege, King
Francis II of the Two Sicilies offered a stubborn defence, shut up in the fortress with 12,000 men and was inspired by the heroic example by his wife Queen
Maria Sophie after
Giuseppe Garibaldi's occupation of
Naples. It was not until 13 February 1861 that Francis II was forced to capitulate when the withdrawal of the French fleet made bombardment from the sea possible, thus sealing the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy.
Enrico Cialdini, the Piedmontese general, received the
victory title of
Duke of Gaeta. During the functioning of the Government of
Montenegro in exile from 1919 to 1924, that supported the
Petrović-Njegoš dynasty and opposed the rule of the
house of Karađorđević in Yugoslavia (
The Greens) were located in Gaeta.
Contemporary age After the
Risorgimento and until
World War II, Gaeta grew in importance and wealth as a harbour. The nearby town of Elena, separated after the Risorgimento and named after the queen of Italy, was reunited with Gaeta following
World War I.
Benito Mussolini transferred Gaeta from the southern region known today as
Campania (formerly Terra di Lavoro, to which it is historically and culturally attached) to the central region of
Lazio. After the king dismissed Mussolini in the summer of 1943, the latter was initially taken via Gaeta to the island prison of
Ponza. After Italy surrendered to the Allies, however, the town's fortunes began to decline. Recognising its strategic importance and fearing an Allied landing in the area, German troops occupied the city and expelled most of the population. The exclusion zone extended five kilometres from the historical city centre. Soon after, however, the population was expelled even beyond this point. The Gaetani were finally ordered to leave the area completely. Those who could not be placed in a
concentration camp and a few were taken to
Germany. Following the Allied advance across the
Garigliano River and the Allied occupation of
Rome, the Gaetani were allowed to return to their city and begin the process of rebuilding. In subsequent decades the city has boomed as a beach resort, and it has seen some success marketing its agricultural products, primarily its tomatoes and olives. Many of its families count seamen among their number. However, the decades since
World War II have been as difficult for Gaeta as they have been for most of Italy's
Mezzogiorno. In particular, its importance as a passenger seaport has nearly vanished: ferries to Ponza and elsewhere now leave from the nearby town of
Formia. All attempts to build a permanent industry as a source of employment and economic well-being for the town have failed. Notable losses include the Littorina rail line (now used as a parking lot and a marketplace), the
AGIP refinery (nowadays a simple depot), and the once-thriving glass factory, which has become an unused industrial relic. Gaeta does have a viable tourism industry as it is a popular seaside resort. Its warm, rain-free summers attract people to its numerous beaches along the coastline, such as Serapo and Sant'Agostino's beaches. Nearly equidistant to
Naples and
Rome, Gaeta is a popular summer tourist destination for people from both cities' metropolitan areas. of the
Cathedral ==Main sights==