Aquino Attractions

42km/26mi beyond Frosinone on S.S. 6 a side road branches off to the village of Aquino (106m/350ft), the ancient Aquinum, home of the satirist Juvenal (c. A.D. 60-140) and of the scholastic philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1226-74), known as the "Doctor Angelicus" or "Doctor Ecclesiae", who was born in the castle of Roccasecca (10km/6mi north) and trained in Montecassino abbey. On the Via Latina, which passed here, are remains of the Roman city. Near the river is the 12th century church of Santa Maria della Libera, a Lombard foundation built on the ruins of a temple of Hercules, with a fine doorway (friezes, mosaics, frescoes). 12km/7.5mi farther along is the little town of Cassino.