It marks the site of Cereatae, the birth-place of Caius Marius, afterwards known, as inscriptions attest, as Cereatae Marianae, having been separated perhaps by the triumvirs, from the territory of Arpinum. In the early Imperial times it was an independent community. The abbey is a fine example of Burgundian early-Gothic architecture (1203-1217), paralleled in Italy by that of Fossanova alone and is very well preserved. It was declared a National Monument in 1874.