Monte San Giovanni Campano, Italy: travel guide to the castle where Thomas Aquinas was imprisoned

Monte San Giovanni Campano is a hill town in the province of Frosinone, in Lazio, set at around 420 metres in the Latin Valley of the Ciociaria, about 14 kilometres east of Frosinone and 90 kilometres south-east of Rome. Home to some 12,000 people and known as the "town of the 36 towers," it preserves a strongly medieval character and a castle with a famous history.

For travellers searching for Monte San Giovanni Campano, the Ducal Castle, Thomas Aquinas or the Ciociaria, it offers history, fine views and mountain country.

The Ducal Castle and Thomas Aquinas

The town is dominated by its Ducal Castle, a fortress of the late 10th or 11th century held by the counts of Aquino, with a square tower and a pentagonal one designed for defence. It is best known as the place where Saint Thomas Aquinas was held prisoner for about two years around 1244 by his own family, who hoped to stop him joining the Dominican order; the room of his captivity was later turned into a chapel. The castle, one of the strongest in Lazio, was damaged in 1495 by the troops of Charles VIII of France.

Town and surroundings

A walk around the old town reveals the medieval defensive towers, some now built into houses, that give the place its nickname. Set among the Ernici mountains, with the rivers Liri and Amaseno nearby, it is also a base for walking and exploring this corner of the Ciociaria.

Practical information

Monte San Giovanni Campano lies about 14 kilometres east of Frosinone and around 90 kilometres south-east of Rome, reached by road, close to the abbey of Casamari and the towns of the Latin Valley.