Historic Center of Fumone

A beautiful village in Ciociaria, located between Monti Ernici and Monti Lepini. It was called 'Olympus of Ciociaria'. It is known for having been the place of imprisonment of Pope Celestine V after his resignation from the papal throne.

Due to its position and proximity to the boundary of the ancient state of the Church, Fumone, from which the valleys of the Cosa and Sacco dominate, was placed by the papacy as a sentinel against Saracen and Norman incursions. It seems that its name derives from the fact that it was the reporting center for any enemies in sight, by lighting fires on a special tower: a thesis that is reflected in the popular saying "Si Fumo fumat..Tota Campania tremat .. . ". Fumone enters history in the Middle Ages (9th century), but the legend traces its origins to King Tarquinius the Superb who, after the expulsion from Rome, seems to have found refuge here (5th century BC). Over the centuries it was papal dominion and its fortress was also used as a prison. His most illustrious prisoner was Pope Celestine V, the Pope of the "great refusal", locked up in the fortress by Boniface VIII, where he died in 1296 in mysterious circumstances. At the end of the century XVII the Marquises Longhi, to whom the fortress was received, restored and transformed it, creating a magnificent complex called "Villa Longhi" with the adjoining "hanging garden", a real marvel: its avenues alternate with ancient plants, flower beds and archaeological finds. (source: ciociariaturismo.it/it/la-ciociaria/i-91-comuni/tutti91comuni/113-fumone.html)