Atina, the Val di Comino and Ciociaria
San Donato Val Di Comino
The attractive medieval town of San Donato Val di Comino is located at 728 metres above sea level, on the slopes of Monte Pizzuto, on the edge of the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo.
The area is known to have been occupied by the Samnite people in a settlement known as Cominium. This was destroyed by the Romans in 293 BC. In 568 the Val di Comino was invaded by the Longobards.
The town takes its name from the shrine of San Donato, a place of sacred pilgrimage.
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This was first documented in 778 when the Duke of Spoleto donated the shrine to the monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno. Two centuries later it was donated to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino.
In 915, during the time of the Battle of Garigliano and Saracen attacks, many people living along the Tyrrhenian coastline fled inland. Many people from the town of Itri sought refuge in the San Donato area and thus the first urban centre was created surrounded by protective walls.
In 1150 the Normans conquered the whole of the Val di Comino and passed it to the Counts of Aquino, who took possession in 1270. They built a formidable fortress in the area of the Sanctuary, with high walls, towers and
secure gateways and the community was named "Castrum Sancti Donati": The town prospered and in 1349 San Donato was declared a Baronry.
However, from the 15th century there followed a period of considerable instability, as the territory was disputed by the feudal lords of Cantelmo, Navarro, Cardona and Borgia. A report describes the inhabitants of San Donato as “industrious hard workers producing fine woollen cloth which attracted merchants from Florence Umbria and Tuscany” and the local economy prospered. Indeed, over the centuries this land was traversed by many a trader, mule train, soldier, monk, pilgrim, traveller and bandit .
In 1595 the territory passed into the hands of the Gallio family and remained so for 200 years.
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