Giampiero Pacifico
Torre Cajetani castello - Giampiero Pacifico 9

Torre Cajetani. The Teofilatto Castle

The Teofilatto castle, or Torre Cajetani castle, stands on a rocky hillside overlooking an extensive valley up to Lake Canterno.

Its construction dates back to Roman times, when it was a fortified place to protect the ancient hamlet.

It hosted important historical figures such as St. Benedict on his journey of 529 to Montecassino.

The grand, rectangular form of the fortress surrounded by mighty fence walls develops around the "male" tower that stands in the central part of the structure.

The Caetani enlarged and fortified the castle, providing for the construction of perimeter walls, ditches, debris piles, drawbridges and various defence towers.

It belonged to the Roman family Teofilatto of the Counts of Tusculum between 900 and 1100, before becoming a fiefdom of the Caetani family at the behest of the powerful Pope Boniface VIII, and eventually returned to the Teofilatto family in 1958.


Written by:
Benedicta Lee

Born in Rome from an Italian mother and American father, she works as a freelance communications manager and designer in the tourism sector, a career and interest which she is pursuing with a...

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