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The Tower of Castellone at Formia: Two Thousand Years of History in 25 Metres of Stone
In Piazza Sant'Erasmo, in the heart of the medieval village, the Tower of Castellone rises to a height of 25 metres, and tells the story of Formia from Roman times to the 14th century. The base in polygonal masonry dates to the ancient Roman arx (citadel). Above it, a reinforcement in opus incertum was added in the Republican period. The octagonal tower that now dominates the skyline was built in 1377 at the behest of Onorato I Caetani, Count of Fondi. It was one of 12 towers that fortified the walls of the village, and the only one to have survived intact.
The Inscription of the Three Aediles
On the ground floor, a Roman inscription is preserved, discovered in 1840 by young local historian Pasquale Mattej. It is the dedication of the three aediles — Cemoleius, Statius, and Paccius — magistrates who, in the Republican period, oversaw the construction of some gateways in the citadel. One of these stood at the very base of the present tower.
A Stronghold Over the Sea
Castellone was founded as a refuge during the Saracen raids of the early Middle Ages. The tower guarded the northern entrance to the fortification, with a battlemented crown, arrow slits, and small square windows. The entire gulf could be surveyed from its 25 metre height. The defensive walls, destroyed by bombing in 1943, once had eleven other towers; they now mostly form part of houses in the district.
