|
||||
 |
|
|||
|
An oasis. This is the only word that adequately describes a city where nature delighted in leaving its most beautuful marks: the large Selva del Circeo forest, the long and impressive coastal dune rich in Mediterranean vegetation, the Monaci, Caprolace and di Paola lakes, the archaeological ruins, the ever-present sea and the sun. You can get to Sabaudia by taking the S.S. 148 Pontina highway, but if you are not in a hurry there are two alternative routes that will certainly reward you for the few minutes' delay: the Litoranea Pontina (Severiana) road, which winds through the fields and the thick vegetation of the park, and the Lungomare Pontina, the coastal road that goes from Rio Martino (Latina) to the foot of the Circeo Promontory, with the beach and its crystal-clear water on the one side and the lakes on the other. Founded on 5 August 1933, Sabaudia has preserved its original town planning layout and architecture, for which it has been called the City of Rationalism. There are the Piazza del Comune, the main plaza with its 42-metre tower and the Casa Municipale, or town hall (formerly the Fascist Building), the school, the Annunziata Church with a large mosaic by Ferrazzi, the hotel, the cinema and the other buildings built during the town's foundation. Present-day Sabaudia is a tourist and art city that for years has been of such high quality that is one of the most sought-after and popular summer vacation spots of Italians and foreigners alike. Just outside the original town nucleus are the banks of the Lago di Paola (or Lago di Sabaudia). Its many arms are filled with thick vegetation that are the home of herons, dwarf herons and other species of birds. Lago di Paola has also become synonymous with sports, because this is where rowers train and hold their regattas; the lake has produced Italian, European, world and Olympic champions in this field. |
|
|
|
|
Localities: Borgo S. Donato, Borgo Vodice, Bella Farnia, Cerasella, Mezzomonte, Molella, Sacramento, S. Andrea, S. Isidoro, Baia d'Argento. |
|||
The view from the seaside is fascinating and impressive: with a single glance you take in the relaxing waters of the lake, the ridge of dunes, kilometres of the often deserted beach where the famous novelist Alberto Moravia liked to take walks, the sea, the ever-present vegetation, and the massive Circeo Promontory which dominates the coastline from the southwest. Sabaudia is the headquarters of the management of the Circeo National Park, with a Visitors Centre, the Natural History Museum and the "Claudia Ortese" Pontine Marshes Education and Health Documentation Centre. Although it is a new city, Sabaudia has important remains of the centuries prior ti its foundation: the 13th century Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Sorresca; the Palazzo di Domiziano, one of the most important archaeological complexes in southern Latium; the so-called Fonte di Lucullo (Lucullus' Spring); the Faberio Murena pool (also called Lucullus pool), which is fed by the sea. A visit to the Sea and Coast Museum completes our historic-cultural tour of Sabaudia. Tourism in Sabaudia is based on its small and large hotels, all of which are first-rate, or at least very good, the campgrounds along the coast, the many vacation villas and apartments, and lastly a programme of events and festivals aimed at a vast range of tastes.