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The Baronial Castle of Suio in Castelforte: views and history overlooking the Garigliano
Standing on the hill overlooking the Garigliano River, in the hamlet of Suio in the municipality of Castelforte, the Baronial Castle is the petrified memory of one of the oldest medieval villages in southern Lazio. Its original name was Castrum Suji following the victory over the Saracens in the Battle of the Garigliano, led by Pope John X. It was built around 935 AD by the Hypatus of Gaeta to monitor the incursions of pirates who sailed up the river.
From Montecassino to the Gustav Line
In 1079, Abbot Desiderius (the future Pope Victor III) acquired the castle and granted the Chartae libertatis, providing rights and privileges to the inhabitants. It passed on to the Normans, then returned to Montecassino, and in 1126 Goffredo dell’Aquila occupied it by force. Over the centuries, it followed the fortunes of the Caetani, Colonna, Carafa, Mansfeld, and Di Sangro families until the feudalist system was abolished in 1806. In 1807, with only 132 inhabitants, Suio lost its status as an independent municipality. During the Second World War, it was heavily damaged, due to its position directly on the Gustav Line.
What remains today
Of the 13th-century structure, the walls and several corner towers remain, with corbels and crenellations still visible. The main tower (keep), damaged by the earthquake of September 9, 1349, definitively collapsed in 1912. Recent restoration work has revealed highly valuable fragments of frescoes dating from the Desiderian era (11th century).
