Latera is a small town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the Province of Viterbo

Province of Viterbo

The Province of Viterbo is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. It is bordered to the north by the Province of Grosseto and Siena, by the north-east with the Province of Terni and Rieti, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and south by the Province of Rome.It...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

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Situated near Bolsena Lake and Mezzano Lake, is important for volcanic underground activity near the town centre. It has a small rock with a medieval palace by Farnese family, surrounded by medieval stone houses.

History

Latera and its castle are known by documents from around the beginning of the 12th century. It began its long-lasting link with the Farnese family in 1408, when Pope Gregory XII

Pope Gregory XII

Pope Gregory XII , born Angelo Correr or Corraro, Pope from 1406 to 1415, succeeded Pope Innocent VII on 30 November 1406....

 conceded vicardom of the city to Ranuccio Farnese, creating with the namesake city of Farnese a Duchy independent from that of the nearby Castro

Castro (city)

Castro was an ancient city on the west side of Lake Bolsena in the present-day comune of Ischia di Castro, northern Lazio, Italy. It was destroyed at the conclusion of the Wars of Castro in the 17th century.-Early history:...

. The Farnese reigned over Latera until 1650.

Main sights

• The Palace of Ranuccio Farnese
• The Three Fountains
• Museum of Earth, inaugurated in 1999