Sezze

Sezze (or Sezza) is a town, comune and former Latin Catholic bishopric in the Province of Latina, central Italy, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of Rome and 10 kilometres (6 mi) from the Mediterranean coast. The historical center of Sezze is located on a high hill commanding the Pontine plain.

The area has been famous for its fine climate since Roman times: warm and dry in summer, cool in winter.

History

According to a legend, the city was founded by the mythical hero Hercules, after his victory over the Lestrigones, a population of giant cannibals living in southern Lazio. The town coat of arms features the white Nemean lion which Hercules slew in the first labor.

The historical Setia appeared around the 5th century BC as the Volscan settlement member of the Latin League. It became a Roman colony in 382 BC, and flourished because of its strategic and commercial position near the "pedemontana" way and the Appian Way, the road that connected Rome to southern Italy.

During the Civil War between Gaius Marius and Sulla, Setia supported the former and was later punished by the victorious Sulla (82 BC). In the Imperial period Setia was famous for its villas, and its wines were praised by Martial, Juvenal and Cicero.

Sezzadio

Sezzadio is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Turin and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of Alessandria.

Sezzadio borders the following municipalities: Carpeneto, Cassine, Castelnuovo Bormida, Castelspina, Gamalero, Montaldo Bormida, Predosa, and Rivalta Bormida.

The main sight is the Abbey of Santa Giustina, founded in 722 by the Lombard king Liutprand. In 1033 it was enlarged by the marquis of Sezzadio, Oberto, and reached its greatest splendour in the 11th through 13th centuries, remaining under the Benedictines until 1474. The church has a large cotto façade divided by pilasters and crowned by Lombard bands. The interior has a nave and two aisles ending with apses. In the apses are frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries, while the crypt has a has an 11th-century mosaic pavement.

The large parish church was built from 1900 in neo-Gothic style.

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