Italy, Vico nel Lazio

This area was inhabited since the Ernici and Romans probably for its controlling position over two valleys: Alatri and Fiuggi. It was transformed in the sixth century AD, when the king of the Goths Theodoric II changed the land use giving land back to nomadic herders. The first written document dates back to 872, when the Emperor Ludovico II organized the struggles against the Saracens. For much of the Middle Ages it was under the papal authority, although it enjoyed broad autonomy. Around 1000 St. Dominic passed here. He was, founder of the nearby monastery of Trisulti, and dedicated the Eici woods. In the thirteenth century it was subjugated by Alatri and in 1427 and was assigned to Antonio Colonna at the behest of his uncle Pope Martin V. The name comes from the Latin Vicus, 'group of houses next to the city or village'. This area has seen a great emigration since the late nineteenth century.