The town of Sessa Aurunca
Sessa Aurunca is located in the province of Caserta, at the foot of the Regional Park of Roccamonfina, dominated by the eponymous extinct volcano.
The area was inhabited in the 7th-8th century B.C. by populations linked to the Aurunci. The Aurunci, defeated in war by the Romans, were later supplanted by them, and the former capital Suessa (Sessa) in 313 B.C. became a colony under Latin law and shortly thereafter acquired the right of coinage, with its own currency (Suesano). During the Augustan period it experienced great economic and political development, occupying an area double the present one, with — among other things — large baths and a theatre capable of seating 3,500 spectators.
Sessa naturally suffered the decline of the Roman Empire and regained importance only in the 12th century. In the 14th century the Marzano, one of the most powerful families of the Kingdom of Naples, placed the capital of their fief in Sessa, from where they dominated much of the “Terra di Lavoro” (an administrative region of uncertain etymology that included part of present-day Campania, Molise and Lazio).
The Marzano domain lasted until 1464. The Duchy of Sessa was then assigned to the powerful Spanish family of the Cordoba, among the most influential of the Kingdom of Spain. The Cordoba often delegated the management of the duchy to their representatives, devoting more attention to their Spanish possessions. The Duchy of Sessa remained under Cordoba rule until 1797, when Ferdinand, King of Naples and King of Sicily, worried about French expansionism, decided to return Sessa to the status of a Royal city1. In that year Sessa had about 4,000 inhabitants.
The events that violently shook the Neapolitan Kingdom between the end of the 1700s and the beginning of the 1800s also had strong effects on Sessa, which found itself weakened in the two pillars fundamental to its importance: the nobility and the religious orders, which since the 13th century had formed the cornerstones of city life. It nevertheless managed to keep its Diocese and maintained a role, at least as an important centre of the province of Terra di Lavoro.
In 1864, by Royal Italian Decree, the town's name was changed to the current Sessa Aurunca. Today the Municipality of Sessa Aurunca, 200 metres above sea level, has a population of over 22,000 inhabitants and is located about 70 km from Naples.