Author: Visit Atina

On the 8th September 1943 Atina and the valley of the Ponte Melfa and Mollarino was invaded by the Baden-Württemberg 305ª Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht commanded by General Friedrich Wilhelm Hauck. By Christmas 1943 the 305th division was replaced by the 5th Gebirgjägers  Division, from Bavaria and Austria, which specialized in mountain warfare. The division was first […]

In 1734 the Bourbon King Charles VII was crowned King of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. In 1759 he passed the title to his son who became King Ferdinand IV. In 1798 King Ferdinand ordered the construction of an iron works in the district of Canneto in the Val di Comino. However ten years later the works were forced […]

The fortifications of Cancello were constructed to defend the passage, sited along the old Roman road (Via Sferracavali). This divided the territory of San Benedetto from the State of Alvito. There was a gateway with an iron gate which at one time was used as a customs point. Later it became part of a very strong […]

Following the fall of the Roman Empire came a period known as the Dark Ages.  The Val di Comino suffered repeated invasions and looting by the Barbarians.  Firstly by the Visigoths in 421 and then by the Ostrogoths. Atina’s troubled history continued over the centuries.  In 589 AD the town was laid waste and many of […]

In 419 the prefect of the town of Atina was the son of the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius. During a wedding feast the young man is said to have fallen in love with a beautiful and noble maiden named Minola. However Minola refused his advances and feeling rejected he went on to rape her. The […]

Atina has experienced an interesting and eventful history. During the early history of Atina history and legend seem to merge together. Atina in Mythology Atina is said to have mythological connections with the Roman god of Saturn. When Saturn, the King of Crete, was exiled from Olympus by his son Jupiter, he fled and eventually found his […]