Borgo medievale di Fiuggi (Fiuggi Alto)

Fiuggi Alto preserves the medieval hill town once known as Anticoli di Campagna, above the modern spa district of Fiuggi Fonte. Its fortified gates, feudal residences and narrow lanes retain the form of the historic settlement that preceded the town's growth around its springs.

Why it matters

The settlement appears in a papal document of 1059–1061 as Anticoli in Campanea, a castellania dependent on the Holy See. The municipal history connects the hill with an earlier Hernici stronghold called Felcia and describes the borgo's street plan as probably Roman or pre-Roman in origin. In 1911, Anticoli di Campagna adopted the name Fiuggi, associated with the ferns that grew around the springs.

What to notice

Porta della Portella is the only surviving gate of the medieval walls, with its defensive tower. At Piazza Castello, a former watchtower now serves as a bell tower. Along Corso Maggiore, historic residences preserve details from different periods, including the medieval Casa Canonica and Case Grandi, a baronial palace dating from around 1200. Via del Codice recalls the civic statutes produced in 1410. The town hall contains Alfredo Tosti's unfinished fresco depicting Boniface VIII receiving Anticolani ambassadors.

Context and history

Fiuggi Alto developed under a succession of papal and feudal authorities. Martin V abolished an annual tribute owed to the Holy See in 1421 after a fire damaged the castle. The Caetani, Borgia, Morgani, Carafa and Colonna families later held the town or its surrounding lands. Anticoli became an independent commune in the eighteenth century. A local legend associates the Pozzo della Vergine with abuses by a feudal lord; this story belongs to the borgo's folklore rather than its documented history.