In ancient times Lanuvium was an important town in the hinterland of Imperial Rome. The emperors Antoninus Pius and Commodus were born here. It decayed after the reign of Theodosius I (late 4th century AD), and was mostly abandoned due to the shutting down of its polytheistic sanctuaries.
It is mentioned again in the 11th century, when it was a seat of a Benedictine monastery. In the early 15th century it was acquired by the Colonna family, to whom it belonged until 1564.
On 17 February 1944, during World War II, it was bombed by sea and air by the Allies, and almost entirely destroyed.
