Barons and castellans · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Aquino lords

The Aquino family hold the castle of Roccasecca on Monte Asprano above the Liri, a few miles from Diepold's Rocca d'Arce.

In 1197 Henry VI sent Diepold's brother Otto to take it; Landulf and Rainald held out until hunger in the besiegers' camp and news of the Sicilian rising made Otto give up and fall back on Rocca d'Arce (Richard of San Germano). The family's old town of Aquino on the Via Latina below is held by Diepold's men [medium] until the abbot of Montecassino takes it in 1201 (DBI on Roffredo). On 1 January 1200 the lords hold Roccasecca and are enemies of the Germans on either side of them.

Who he is

Name
Landulf (Landolfo) and Rainald (Rinaldo) of Aquino
Title
Lords of Roccasecca, of the house of the counts of Aquino
Since
Before 1197
Born
Not known
Family
The d'Aquino, heirs of the Lombard gastalds and counts of Aquino. Whether this Landulf is the Landulf of Aquino who was later the father of St Thomas Aquinas (born about 1225) is not pinned.
Confidence
medium

Richard of San Germano for 1197; it.wikipedia on Roccasecca.

Overlord

The king.

What it holds

  • Roccasecca, the family castle on Monte Asprano, which withstood Henry VI's troops
  • Claims to Aquino, their ancestral town, held by Diepold's men [medium] until 1201
  • Other castles of the family in the Terra di Lavoro [not pinned]

How it was acquired

Inherited; Roccasecca was built by Montecassino in 994 and became an Aquino fief.

Allies and rivals

Enemies: Diepold, his brother Otto and the garrisons of Rocca d'Arce and Aquino. Neighbours: the abbot of Montecassino (the abbey's castles of Piedimonte and Castrocielo lie on their side of the valley).

How things stand that morning

Held by the family against the Germans.

Wealth

The Liri valley, the Via Latina at Aquino, mills and pasture.

Military

The rock castle of Roccasecca, which outlasted a German siege in 1197.

Threats

  • Diepold's garrisons at Rocca d'Arce and Aquino

Places of note

  • Castle of Roccasecca: Family castle on Monte Asprano

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: One dated episode (1197) in Richard of San Germano; the family's holdings in 1200 are not documented in the sources seen.

On the map: Only Roccasecca is drawn.

Primary sources for Sicily

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Richard of San Germano, Chronicle, trans. G.A. Loud (University of Leeds, PDF; covers to 1199)
  2. Roccasecca (it.wikipedia)
  3. Dipoldo di Schweinspeunt (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.