Gaeta (Italian: [ɡaˈeːta]; Latin: Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: Gaieta) is a seaside resort in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Italy.

The remains of the monumental villa[7] of Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul 56 BC), stepfather of Augustus, are in Hotel Irlanda in the Arcella area.

[8] Lucius Munatius Plancus (consul in 42 BC) had a vast villa located on Monte Orlando overlooking the Gulf of Gaeta.

Around 830, it became a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati or consuls:[3] The first of these was Constantine (839–866), who in 847 aided Pope Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia.

They were probably violently overthrown (they disappeared suddenly from history) in 866 or 867 by Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy.

The greatest of the hypati was possibly John I, who helped crush the Saracens at Garigliano in 915 and gained the title of patricius from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII.

On the death of Docibilis II (954), who first took the title dux, the duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory.

Allegedly, but improbably, from the end of the 9th century, the principality of Capua claimed Gaeta as a courtesy title for the younger son of its ruling prince.

In the mid-10th century, the De Ceremoniis of Constantine VII lists the ceremonial title "prince of Gaeta" among the protocols for letters written to foreigners.

[16] Prince Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles.

Gaeta, owing to its important strategic position, was often attacked and defended bravely in the many wars for possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

In 1501, Gaeta was retaken by the French; however, after their defeat at the Garigliano (3 January 1504), they abandoned it to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Ferdinand II of Aragon's general.

On 6 August 1734, it was taken by French, Spanish and Sardinian troops under the future King Charles III of Spain after a stubborn defence by the Austrian viceroy of four months.

It was created as a duché grand-fief in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, but under the French name Gaète, for finance minister Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, in 1809 (family extinguished in 1841).

On 1 August 1849, USS Constitution while in port at Gaeta, received onboard King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX, giving them a 21-gun salute.

During the 1861 siege, King Francis II of the Two Sicilies offered a stubborn defence, shut up in the fortress with 12,000 men and was inspired by the heroic example by his wife Queen Maria Sophie after Giuseppe Garibaldi's occupation of Naples.

During the functioning of the Government of Montenegro in exile from 1919 to 1924, that supported the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty and opposed the rule of the house of Karađorđević in Yugoslavia (The Greens) were located in Gaeta.

Recognising its strategic importance and fearing an Allied landing in the area, German troops occupied the city and expelled most of the population.

In subsequent decades the city has boomed as a beach resort, and it has seen some success marketing its agricultural products, primarily its tomatoes and olives.

Notable losses include the Littorina rail line (now used as a parking lot and a marketplace), the AGIP refinery (nowadays a simple depot), and the once-thriving glass factory, which has become an unused industrial relic.

Nearly equidistant to Naples and Rome, Gaeta is a popular summer tourist destination for people from both cities' metropolitan areas.

Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, paid visits to the USS Constitution while in Gaeta in 1849.

There was a DOD school for American children and the US Naval Support Activity, Gaeta, which provided health care and other services until it was closed down in 2005.

Other stuffings include endives and baccalà (dried and salted cods), eggs and courgettes, spinaches, rapini and sausages, ham and cheese.

The town is also known for its distinctive brand of olives, marketed throughout the world (the main production, however, takes place in neighbouring Itri), and its beaches (Serapo, Fontania, Ariana, Sant'Agostino).

[20] The most famous folklore event of Gaeta is Glie Sciusce of 31 December, in which bands of young Gaetani in traditional costumes head to the city's streets, playing mainly self-built instruments.