Alatri lies on a hill and its medieval alleys and churches testify it has a rich history.
The town is especially famous for its Acropolis, which stands on the top of the hill and consists in a triplecircle of huge and very well preserved walls surrounding the town . The walls are made up of big blocks of calcareous stones which were squared , polished and put together without cement by the so called Hetei or Pelasgi , an ancent population from Asia minor who settled in Alatri VII century b.C. Alatri became the center of the Ernici's Confederation and they defended the town for a long time from the Roman territorial expansion .
Alatri was conquered by the Romans in the I century b.C. and the censor Lucio Betilieno Varo provided the town with a lot of new works , especially in centre.
During the Middle Ages Alatri stuck up a strong friendship with the Church and thanks to the work of 2 cardinals , Ugone and Gottifredo, the town had an extraordinary moral, politic and economic growth . We have to mention 2 recent important citizens of Alatri: father Luigi Pietrobono, famous Dantist and Pascoli's friend and the illustrious glottologist Luigi Ceci.

Sightseeing in Alatri

If you want to be an ideal sightseer of the ancient "Aletrium" you have to start your trip from the harmonious S.Maria Maggiore Square , where you can admire many interesting monuments.The main of them is the S.Maria Maggiore church(XII century), the most important holy building in the town built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Venus, with Roman and Gothic style . Inside the church you can see the wonderful Rosette and the wooden "Madonna of Costantinopoli" and the Antonio from Alatri's redeemer triptych.
In the square you can also see the Pia fountain , the Conti Gentili palace (XIII century) , the neoclassical Town Hall , the Scolopi church (XVIII century) .
Not far from the square there is S.Francesco church : it keeps inside interesting XV century paintings and a relic of S.Francesco's mantel .Passing through Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Duomo street you can reach first the thirteenth-century Gottifredo Gottifredi palace and then imposing the Acropoli(IV century).The S.Paolo cathedral rises in the centre of it : the cathedral jealously preserves the "Incarnated Host" ,a miracle happened in 1228 and statue of S.Sisto I , pope and martyr ,patron of Alatri . On the top of the Acropolis you can also enjoy a marvelous view of the land surrounding the town . When you leave the Acropolis you still have enjoy the peacefulness of the "Piagge" suburb and S.Silvestro church (XI century) which contains medieval paintings . There are interesting buildings out from Alatri too , such as the Maddalena church(XII century), near Frosinone; the XII Marie church (XIV century) near Fumone and the S.Sebastiano Protocenobio between Alatri and Veroli.