What is Atina known for?

Granted 1999, a red of 50–70% Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc on the Val di Comino floor. Samnite polygonal masonry below the medieval town, double barrier defending the routes from Cassino into Samnium. Upper valley between the Mainarde and Ernici, anchored by Atina, with Lago di Posta Fibreno and its floating island fifteen kilometers downhill.

Atina is a comune in the province of Frosinone, Lazio region of Italy, about 116 kilometers from Napoli.

Lazio · Frosinone

Atina

A polygonal-walled town in the Val di Comino at the foot of the Mainarde, and the DOC that makes Cabernet in central Italy.

500m

Elevation

116 km / 72 mi

Nearest hub (Napoli)

4,133

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Atina sits at 500 meters on a hill in the upper Val di Comino, in the province of Frosinone, at the foot of the Meta and Mainarde ranges. The Volsci held this ground first, then the Samnites raised a double barrier of polygonal masonry to defend the approaches from Cassino and the Liri valley. Sections of those Cyclopean walls still survive below the medieval town. Cicero, born in Arpino fourteen kilometers away, mentions Atina in his De Lege Agraria. The centro storico is grouped around the Piazza Garibaldi and the sixteenth-century Palazzo Cantelmo, with the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta closing one end. Atina Cabernet DOC, granted in 1999, is the local oddity: a red blended from fifty to seventy percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, planted in the Val di Comino valley floor below town. The Lago di Posta Fibreno, a karst lake with a floating island that Pliny the Elder wrote about, lies fifteen kilometers downhill.

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Gallery

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Known for

Mura poligonali
Cyclopean Samnite walls in polygonal masonry below the medieval town, double barrier defending the approaches from Cassino and the Liri valley.
Palazzo Cantelmo (Ducale)
Sixteenth-century ducal palace on Piazza Garibaldi, residence of the Cantelmo dukes of Atina, today the town hall.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Medieval cathedral at the head of the centro storico, rebuilt after earthquakes, seat of the historic diocese of Atina.
Val di Comino
Upper Liri-Garigliano valley between the Mainarde and the Ernici, wine and olive country, Lago di Posta Fibreno on its lower edge.
Centro storico
Medieval ridge town built over the polygonal Volscian-Samnite acropolis, inscribed in I Borghi più Belli d'Italia.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the open season for Atina: vineyards in leaf in May, the Cabernet harvest in late September, mild dry air through October. July and August are warm in the valley below but cooler at 500 meters; the centro storico holds shade through the afternoon. November through March is quiet. The Val di Comino fills with mist on cold mornings. The Sagra del Cabernet runs in early September, and the patronal feast of San Marco closes the village in late April.