Caius Marius, the Roman statesman was born in Arpino in a hill town in the Liri Valley, but he had a villa in the countryside near the old settlement of Casamari.Some of the Roman ruins can still be seen near the abbey and the river, which is a conservation area and remains undeveloped. However, the weekend market is always busy as visitors stop by the stalls to buy snacks of nuts, olives, pastries, biscuits and cakes.
When we were there last year we suddenly heard cars hootingand this usually means that a convoy of wedding guests are following the wedding party to the reception. Instead, it was a number of vintage Fiats passing by on the way to a rally.
