It has nothing to do with the mythical hero and king of the Aeneid evoked by its name. Evandro is just the evolution of the original toponym, Rocca di Vandra, already in use before the 11th century, indicating the village perched with its castle on the hill of Monte Camino’s slopes, between Aurunci and Mainarde, watching over the Garigliano valley.
A strategic position largely exploited by the fortified citadel, since when at beginning of its history in 582, when it guaranteed safe shelter for the inhabitants of Casinum and Aquinum, attacked and destroyed by Zotone, Duke of Benevento. However, We had to wait until 744 before finding an official evidence of the existence of the fortress. From that moment the narration of its complex events begins, mainly marked by the interchange of many lords during its multi secular feudal period and by the strong link with the Abbey of Montecassino, to which it belonged on more occasions in the Middle Ages, starting from the 11th century, as well as being permanently included in its area of cultural influence even in the following centuries.
Among the various lords of the fortress and the nearby Camino and Mignano, there also was in 1504 the hero of the duel of Barletta, Ettore Fieramosca. In 1528 the village was under the rule of Federico Monforte when he rebelled against Charles V, who regained control of the territory thanks to the first sword of the kingdom, the Marquis of Pescara Ferranted’Avalos. Eight years later, the emperor gave the fiefdom to the widow of d’Avalos as a gift, the poetess Vittoria Colonna, who kept it for a short while, before it passed to other owners. Among them, the Caracciolo family, dukes of Marzano. The long list of lords ended with the barons then Marquis Cedronio, in the 17th century, when the feudal regime ended.
Central in history as it has been in the country for over a millennium, the castle founded in the 10th century by the counts of Aquino, was enlarged and rearranged under Frederick II of Swabia, who was personally guest of it. The still current layout of the square with its characteristic stone paving dates back to that period, with the noble palaces framing it and the fountain in plain sight. Its long and deserved reputation for inaccessibility was earned by a single episode, when it was stormed by the troops of Charles V led by Ferrante d’Avalos. Charles V himself stopped there, making sure to donate it to Vittoria Colonna in consideration of her husband's achievements. Among the resident families who owned it over time, as well as the tax authorities for a certain period, the structure experienced various vicissitudes, including the destruction caused by the earthquakes of 1117 and 1349, and subsequent extensions and renovations, confirming and strengthening from time to time its function of protecting the whole area. Then, began a phase of slow decline, consuming to the point of total abandonment. Lasted long enough to reduce the fortress to a ruin. Only in 1980 the Municipality managed to buy it, starting in 1983 a complex action of recovery and restoration.
Not far away, on the same square stands the Church of St. Mary Major with a double ramp access. Characterized by a facade dominated by an elegant portal, which supports an acute tympanum with a depiction of the Madonna with Child. The interior has a single nave, heavily remodeled in the Baroque period, bearing gilding and stucco. The e altar and the 18th century wooden choir are among the most valuable items. On the left of the sacred building is the bell tower, raised by 5 meters after the war of the last century, working as watchpoint using the height of the church. The bells of 1693 and 1721 are of of historical value too.
In the area surrounding the main town, hamlets of different fractions have formed over time. The oldest settlement in the area was in the valley, where traces of a Roman wine landing place in the Mortola area reemerged. The suggestive path that leads up to the Sanctuary of Mount Camino is not to be missed, founded in the 17th century at a height of one thousand meters. Even older and no less interesting, the 16th century hermitage of the Eternal Father on Mount Major, the church of St. Mary of Mortola and the chapel of St. Tommaso, both dating back to the 15th century.
