Arcadia Italy

 BY ILARIA D'ONOFRIO, PROGRAM ASSISTANT, SUMMER 2018

Sperlonga it`s one of the best small village on the coast of Italy (and I’m not saying it just because my father was born there) and it`s not so far from Rome. You can easily get there by train (1h and 30’) or by car (2h) and believe be, you won’t regret it.

Sperlonga is a beautiful seaside town situated on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and as soon as you get there you’re going to be amazed by the view of the old town. Whitewashed houses are clustered together on a small hill, which overlook on two beautiful beaches divided by a touristic harbor. Light yellow sand, blue and clean water, comfortable and modern beach club with the best restaurants of the town, where you can obviously eat delicious seafood at lunch or dinner. The beauty of Sperlonga beaches are the clearness of the water, freshwater springs next to the port and the presence of high hills on the back of the coast, which don’t make pass through the wind and they make you feel like you are in a peaceful bay, fare away from the traffic of the city.

Then there is the town, which can be divided into two different areas: the ancient town on the hill and the modern town at the foot of the hill. In the modern part there are lots of tasty ice-cream parlor, pizzeria, a big square next to the beach where they host live concerts and exhibitions every weekend. But the real gem is the ancient part on the hill, and you can get there from the bottom town in less than 15 minutes, climbing up some scenic stairs on the hill. There you’re going to walk through narrow alleys, with ancient and colorful roman frescoes, little steps and glimpse of the wonderful sea. Obviously there are any sort of hotels, restaurant, café, clothes shops and ice-cream parlor, so you can easily spend your evening just walking through the historical center, eating, drinking and buying some souvenirs. I really recommend you a night walk through the harbor and the beach, it’s very relaxing and I personally find the sea very fascinating during the night.

Moreover, Sperlonga is not just beaches and small white houses, but is a town full of history, so if you’re looking for a cultural holiday this is the right place for you too. The main archeological point of the area is Tiberio Cave and the ruins of Villa Tiberio, discovered in the 1957 and preserved into what is now known as the National and archeological museum of Sperlonga. As an imperial residence, the villa was embellished with a remarkable collection of art objects, which included heads, busts, statues and marble groups. Some of these objects came to light during the excavations and therefore recovered and keep it inside the museum, like the famous marble collection of the emperor.

As you can see Sperlonga is a very small town, but is full of interesting places and a variety of activities that you can do to spend some time away from the chaotic traffic of Rome and refresh yourself with some sea air.