"hydra", pronounced in some dialects as "itra". In Roman times Itri would have been no more than a post station, a role it continued in until well into the nineteenth century; in Bourbon times Itri was the 12th of 18 posting stations going south from Rome to Naples. In the Middle Ages the population grew, and three lines of walls were built to protect the people living around the castle. Itri was part of the duchy of Gaeta and was a possession of the Dell'Aquila family, dukes of Fondi. In modern times Itri was part of the Kingdom of Naples. Due to its location on the Gola di Sant'Andrea, Itri has historically been the scene of much military activity and a number of important battles. Perhaps the most famous occurred in 1503 when Consalvo of Cordova defeated the French army under the command of the Duke of Nemours, an action known as the Battle of the Garigliano. During World War II, Allied bombing destroyed 75 percent of the city edifices. Main sights The Castle, which commands all the neighbouring valley. It has a square tower merloned wall, attributed to Duke Docibilis I of Gaeta (882), to which his grandson Marinus II added a polygonal tower. A third tower, nicknamed del Coccodrillo ("Crocodile") is site in a lower position, directly over Via Appia. A third line of wall is from the mid-13th century. The church of San Michele Arcangelo (11th century), in Arabic-Norman style. The 12th-century bell tower of the destroyed church of St. Maria Maggiore, with Byzantine art-style decorations. The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Civita is located from the city on a mountain once devoted to the Roman God Mercury with a splendid panorama. It houses a holy image of the Virgin, which, according to the legend, was painted by St. Luke. It was crowned here by Pope Pius VII, and again by Pius IX in 1877. King Ferdinand II of Naples visited the place in 1849. The Fortress of Sant'Andrea was built in the first century BC on the remains of an ancient Roman villa, located along the Old Via Appia in the direction of Fondi. This fortress was used by Fra Diavolo during the defensive operations against the French in 1798. The Church of Santa Maria di Loreto is located on a hill northeast from the center of the town. It is connected to the convent of