Monte San Biagio

Monte San Biagio
Country	Italy
region	Lazio
province	Latina  (LT)
Coordinates	41 ° 21 '  N , 13 ° 21'  E Coordinates: 41 ° 21 '11 "  N , 13 ° 21' 2"  E
height	133  m slm
surface	66 km²
Residents	6,304 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	96 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	04020
prefix	0771
ISTAT number	059015
Popular name	Monticellani
Patron saint	San Biagio
Website	Monte San Biagio
Monte San Biagio as seen from the Via Appia

Monte San Biagio is an Italian commune with 6304 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the province of Latina in the Lazio region .

Surname

The place was called Monticelli since the Middle Ages . After the unification of Italy in 1861, the municipality renamed itself to avoid duplication with places of the same name. The municipal council decided in September 1862 for the name Monte San Vito , which was not accepted because of further duplications. From December of the same year the place was now called Monte San Biagio in honor of the patron saint .

geography

Monte San Biagio is 124 km southeast of Rome , 52 km southwest of Latina and 130 km northwest of Naples . The place is on the southern slope of the Monti Ausoni , above the plain of Fondi. The municipality includes the hamlets of Campo Marinello, Vetica and Villa San Vito, in the mountains, as well as the districts of Macchioni, Portella and Valle Marina, which lie in the plain along the Via Appia. The community is a member of the Comunità Montana dei Monti Ausoni ed Aurunci . The municipal area extends over a height of 1  m slm on Lago di Fondi to 1,090 m slm, the Monte delle Fate.

The community is located in earthquake zone 2 (medium risk).

The neighboring communities are Amaseno ( FR ), Fondi , Sonnino , Terracina and Vallecorsa (FR).

traffic

Monte San Biagio is located on Strada Statale 7 Via Appia , which has led from Rome to Brindisi since ancient times . It is also connected to the A1 Autostrada del Sole , exit Ceprano , via the strada stadale SS 82 della Valle del Liri . The place has a train station on the Roma-Formia-Napoli railway line .

history

Monte San Biagio, view from the east

As archaeological finds prove, the municipality was already settled in ancient times. The medieval town with the name Monticelli originated in the area of ​​the Duchy of Gaeta , since 934 Duchy of Fondi .

The first mention of a castellum Monticelli goes back to 1099. In the document of the Montecassino Monastery , Crescenzo Duke of Fondi is named as a resident of the castle. In 1145 it fell to the Dell'Aquila family and when they died out in 1299 to their heirs, the Caetani . The Colonna (1494), Gonzaga (1570), Carafa (1591), Mansfeld (1690) and di Sangro (1721) ruled the castle and town . Despite the change of ruler, it remained under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Naples with importance as a border fortress to the Papal States above the Via Appia. In the district of Epitaffio, an inscription from the 16th century has been preserved on a border tower . The customs post for the control of travelers and their goods was in the district of Portella, where the border tower and the gate under which the Via Appia ran are still visible today. The last prince of Monticelli was Giovanni di Sangro when the place was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Italy in 1860 .

Because of this favorable position, Monte San Biagio was repeatedly plagued by brigands throughout its history , especially between 1861 and 1870, when Lazio and Rome were incorporated into Italy.

Between the 16th and 17th centuries, Monte San Biagio suffered major population losses due to malaria, as the malaria mosquitoes continued to spread in the Fondi Valley, which was largely made up of marshland. In 1637 Monte San Biagio was almost uninhabited. Thanks to a strong immigration from the rear mountains and the drainage of the swamps by the Fondan Princess Anna Carafa in 1639, the population grew again, until in 1697 the population was again 1429.

Duke of Portella

Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich (1773-1859), Austrian statesman, foreign minister since 1809, second Prince von Metternich-Winneburg since 1813, later Austrian state chancellor (since 1821), became King of both Sicilies on August 1, 1818 by Ferdinand I , appointed hereditary Duke of Portella (Duca di Portella). This was intended to commemorate the place (Portella, the district of Monte San Biagio on the Via Appia), where in 1813 the Austrian army first entered the Kingdom of Naples. The bloodline of the Dukes of Portella died out on September 21, 1992 in Geneva with the death of their great-grandson, Paul Alfons von Metternich-Winneburg (1917–1992).

Population development

Population development

religion

Monte San Biagio belonged to the diocese of Fondi until 1818, then to that of Gaeta , which in 1848 became an archdiocese.

politics

Gesualdo Mirabella ( PdL ) was elected mayor in June 2004 and confirmed in office in 2009. His center-right list also has a majority in the local council with 11 out of 16 seats.

Twin cities

• Saint-Romain-le-Puy , Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
• Übersee in Chiemgau , Upper Bavaria since 2008

Web links

Commons : Monte San Biagio  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Monte San Biagio on www.comuni-italiani.it (Italian)
• Community website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ^ Italian civil defense
3. ↑ La Repubblica June 8, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.