Noble seaside villas
THE SOUTHERN COAST
South of Rome, the Roman countryside and the Agro Pontino [Pontine Marshes, now countryside] lead gently towards the sea. The silence, the scent of the air, the lure of the sea and the spectacular sunsets have made this area, since ancient times, an ideal destination for state personalities, intellectuals and artists in search of peace. Noble dwellings, charming gardens, and castles on the sea thus arose along the coast.
Some vestiges of these villas remain, giving us an idea of their ancient splendour. The plain, crossed by the vie Pontina, Laurentina and Ardeatina as well as the coast road via Severiana (which started close to today's Fiumicino and reached Terracina), was where Augustus, Nero and Cicero - to name but a few - built their villas. Their example was followed by aristocrats, cardinals and artists after a long period of neglect in the Middle Ages, traces of which can however be found in the coast towers. For over two thousand years this area has traditionally been home to wonderful residences and gardens; it is to this day, despite the sometimes indiscriminate urbanization which has overbuilt large parts of it.
Today massive summer tourism covers the beaches with over-numerous colourful umbrellas, but off-season visitors can discover other more suggestive and interesting aspects of this area. To get a glimpse of what the shoreline south of Rome was like in Roman days, it is enough to take a walk along the beaches between Anzio, Nettuno and Astura where splendid patrician villas once stood overlooking the sea; today their remains still emerge from the sand, especially at low tide. Some fascinating rustic and marine landscapes survive in the protected area of Tor Caldara and in the military firing ground of Torre Astura.
The stops along this itinerary include the main towns of the area: Ardea with its pre-Roman fortified acropolis; Anzio, with its imposing Roman ruins and fascinating noble villas and Nettuno, with its medieval core and the Forte Sangallo; and Torre Astura, with the ruins of the old harbour, the Roman villas and the medieval fortifications.
|
Historycal itineraries
