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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: FRA-GAE |
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GAETA (anc. Caietae Portus) , a seaport and episcopal see of Campania, Italy, in the province of Caserta, from which it is 53 M. W.N.W. by rail via Sparanise. Pop. (1901) 5528. It occupies a lower projecting point of the promontory which forms the S.W. extremity of the Bay of Gaeta. The tomb of Munatius Plancus, on the summit of the promontory (see CAIRTAE PORTUS), is now a naval signal station, and lies in the centre of the extensive earthworks of the modern fortifications. The harbour is well sheltered except on the E., but has little commercial importance, being mainly a naval station. To the N.W. is the suburb of Elena (formerly Borgo di Gaeta). Pop. (1901) 10,369. Above the town is a castle erected by the Angevin kings, and strengthened at various periods. The cathedral of St Erasmus (S. Elmo), consecrated in 1106, has a fine campanile begun in ' The New English Dictionary has nothing to say. Webster
Willughby
Willughby
86o and completed in 1279, and a nave and four aisles; the interior has, however, been modernized. Opposite the door of the cathedral is a candelabrum with interesting sculptures of the end of the 13th century, consisting of 48 panels in bas-relief, with 24 representations from the life of Christ, and 24 of the life of St Erasmus (A. Venturi, Storia dell' arte Italiana, iii. Milan, 1904, 642 seq.). The cathedral possesses three fine Exultet rolls, with miniatures dating from the 11th to the begin-fling of the 13th century. Behind the high altar is the banner sent by Pope Pius V. to Don John of Austria, the victor of Lepanto. The constable of Bourbon, who fell in the sack of Rome of 1527, is buried here. The other churches are of minor interest
During the break-up of the Roman empire, Gaeta, like Amalfi and Naples, would seem to have established itself as a practically independent port and to have carried on a thriving trade with the Levant. Its history, however, is obscure until, in 823, it appears as a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati or consuls. In 844 the town fell into the hands of the Arabs, but four years later they were driven out with help supplied by Pope Leo IV. In 875 the town was in the hands of Pope John VIII., who gave it to the count of Capua
Capua
late
In military history the town has played a conspicuous part. Its fortifications were strengthened in the 15th century. On the 3oth of September 1707 it was stormed, after a three months' siege, by the Austrians under Daun; and on the 6th. of August 1734 it was taken, after a siege of four months, by French, Spanish and Sardinian troops under the future King Charles of Naples. The fortifications were again strengthened; and in 1799 it was temporarily occupied by the French. On the 18th of July 1806 it was captured, after an heroic defence, by the French under Massena; and on the 18th of July 1815 it capitulated, after a three months' siege, to the Austrians. In November 1848 Pope Pius 1X., after his flight in disguise from Rome, found a refuge
fleet
See G. B. Federici, Degli antichi duchi, consoli o ipati della citta di Gaeta (Naples, 1791) ; Onorato Gaetani
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