The area of Mignano was inhabited by the Sidicini and then chosen by the Etruscans to found the city of Cesennia, whose name is perhaps linked to that of the nearby Mount Cesina from which pumice stone had been extracted since ancient times. According to some scholars, the toponym is nothing other than a predial taken from a Latin personal Miniuu to which, in 1947, the specification Monte Lungo was added, in memory of the dramatic battle of 1943. The walls that defended the Roman city and at the same time constituted an aqueduct to transport water from the Rava stream have been almost completely destroyed. In the imperial age, a bridge was built over the Rava which, together with numerous inscriptions and archaeological finds discovered in the area, testifies to the strategic importance of the territory. The Lombards first included it in the Duchy of Benevento and from 776 to the end of their domination in the County of Capua.
In 1139 Mignano became the battlefield between the Normans, led by Ruggiero, recently crowned king of Sicily by the antipope Anacletus II, and the army of Pope Innocent II, who was defeated and taken prisoner to the castle of Mignano to sign the peace. The fiefdom passed to the Swabians, the Angevins and with the Aragonese it was assigned to the Fieramosca family, until 1581 when it was ceded by Ettore Leognano Fieramosca to Giulio Cesare de Capua. Mignano was once again the scene of war when in 1734, Charles of Bourbon defeated Count Daun who preferred to take refuge in Capua, abandoning the defense of the castle. During the Second World War the territory of Mignano was once again the scene of a battle. The retreating Germans had settled in Montecassino between 29 and 30 September 1943. To hinder the advance of the Allied troops, they mined some strategic points, destroying and damaging not only many houses but also the Castle, the Town Hall and the Ferdinand Bridge over the Rava River, which was the only connection between the Casilina road and the town. On the following 8 December, our units under the command of General Dapino attacked the enemy forces as part of the plan prepared by General Clark. The Italians advanced in the thick fog, swept away by the sudden rise of the wind, and suffered considerable losses. Subsequently, with the new attack plan developed on 16 December, victory smiled upon our fighters.
Mignano Family 