Roccasecca

Sister cities

• Belcastro
• Croissy-Beaubourg
• Priverno

History

The history of Roccasecca is tightly bound to its strategic position, a "dry rocca" at the entrance to two narrow defiles that give access to the Valle di Comino below the slopes of Monte Asprano, whose elevation at provides a natural position to control the wide Valle del Liri. Remains of archaic perimeter walling attest to an early fortified presence around the site. Roccasecca served as a way station for ancient Roman legions and invading armies crossing the River Melfa, spanned by three ancient bridges there, remains of which still exist. However, the Medieval commune truly began in the early Middle Ages. It is commonly remembered that St. Thomas Aquinas was born at Roccasecca in 1225, in the castle of his father Landulf, Count of Aquino, which was an important defensive structure that Manso, Abbot of Monte Cassino erected in 994 as part of the outward defenses of the Abbey, it being some kilometres distant. The Abbot entrusted the fortified rocca to a collateral branch of the Counts of Aquino, whose primary seat at Aquino lies to the south; they retained their custody of the fortification through numerous battles, throughout the centuries. After the middle of the sixteenth century, some of the inhabitants descended to the valley to erect permanent housing there, giving rise to the frazioni Roccasecca Centro, Castello, and Caprile. In the ensuing centuries the rocca of Roccasecca passed between the Angevin kings of Naples or the Aragonese, in intermittent contention with the Papal States, for the resulting power over the Valle del Liri. Only in 1583 did Roccasecca gain some permanent security, when the Counts of Aquino sold the rights to Giacomo Boncompagni, Duke of Sora, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII (born Ugo Boncompagni), who made of it for…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  70
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  59
• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  33
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  30
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29
• Lady Orchid

  Orchis purpurea Huds. · Liliopsida
  29
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27
• Eurasian Blackcap

  Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2026-07-31
  0 km WSW of Torre Caracciolo, Italy
• M 4.4 — 2026-07-24
  5 km WNW of Pizzone, Italy
• M 4.1 — 2026-05-21
  2 km E of Procida, Italy
• M 4.1 — 2025-11-18
  16 km ESE of Ventotene, Italy
• M 4 — 2025-05-13
  2 km N of Bacoli, Italy
• M 2.7 — 2025-05-08
  1 km NNE of Montecompatri, Italy