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CULTURAL

Anzio is a historic city, known for the Landing of Anzio of the Allies, of the emperors Nero and Caligula, and for this very reason, rich in archaeological sites, museums and civil architecture.

In the following pages only some cultural sites are described, for more details and information, visit the internet or contact the tourist office.

Civil architecture

  • Villa Adele (4.9 km)

  • Villa Sarsina (4.8 km)

  • Villa Albani (4.5 km)

  • Paradise by the sea (5.6 km)

  • Angelita di Anzio (5.1 Km)

  • Fisherman's Monument (5.3 km)

  • Monument to Emperor Nero (5.4 km)

  • Monument to Innocent XII (5.6 Km)

  • Anzio War Memorial (5.7 km)

  • World War II bunker (3.2 km)

Archaeological sites

  • Nero's Villa: however, it cannot be identified with certainty, although it is generally located near the so-called Arco Muto, where the ruins of a theater still stand. The emperor's residence extended on the Capo d'Anzio along a coastal strip of about eight hundred meters and was built on the site of a previous villa where Augustus had received a delegation from Rome to be acclaimed Pater Patriae. Nero wanted to build a villa worthy, in size and magnificence, of his status as emperor. After the death of Nero, all the Roman Caesars used it until the Severan dynasty. (5.2 km)

  • Roman theater of Anzio. (4.3 km)

  • Vallo Volsco Park: Anzio was one of the capitals of the central-Italic Volscian population. The archaeological site opened in 2017, branches off onto a short pedestrian path, small equipped areas and limited access to the excavated caves, used in antiquity as shelters, stables or mounds. The park stands adjacent to the Basilica of Santa Teresa. Entrance is free, only in the summer period it is possible to visit the area with the help of a guide. (3.8 km)

Museums

  • Anzio Landing Museum (4.9 km)

  • Civic Archaeological Museum of Anzio (4.9 km)

Villa Adele

Built in the seventeenth century, the Villa belonged to the Cesi, Pamphili and Borghese families. Today it presents itself as a well-kept and renovated area that has become an important cultural hub. In fact, inside there is space, in addition to some municipal offices, the Civic Archaeological Museum, the Landing Museum, the Hall of Shells (used for exhibitions and conferences), the Municipal Library and a well-equipped Media Library for children.

Address : Via di Villa Adele, 9, 00042 Anzio RM

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Villa Corsini Sarsina (Town Hall)

Together with Villa Adele and Villa Albani it represents one of the three largest villas of great architectural interest in Anzio. Today the villa is unfortunately abandoned to itself. Even if the recovery of Villa Sarsina is being planned with great delay, the promoters of the initiative are the Municipality of Anzio and the Lazio Region.

Villa Sarsina takes its name from the Aldobrandini Princes of Sarsina who held it from 1874 to 1926, but the villa was built by Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini of Florence, between 1732 and 1735, presumably based on a design by Ferdinando Fuga. The cardinal was the nephew of Pope Clement XII Corsini between 1730 and 1740, which is why one of his grandiose coats of arms could be admired on the circuit of the belvedere walls.

Address : Via Risorgimento, 00042 Anzio RM

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Villa Albani

 

Built in 1726 by order of the cardinal-archaeologist Alessandro Albani, it belonged to the Borghese, the Aldobrandini, Pope Pius IX and Giovanni Mastai Ferretti who also made it his residence. Subsequently, in 1879, the villa became a hospice for poor children, one of the first in Italy to carry out such functions, and over the years it has transformed into a hospital specializing in the rehabilitation of seriously disabled people.

There was no place that could better satisfy the needs, inclinations and desires of Cardinal Alessandro Albani. Porto d'Anzio would provide him with prestige, wealth and fame, as he found the right humus that could fuel his profound passion: archaeology. Fertile lands awaited those who knew how to lift that blanket and discover unparalleled treasures that time had preserved in a thousand-year hibernation.

For this reason the cardinal commissioned the construction of a "country casino" which would host him during the summer periods and above all during the excavation operations for his numerous archaeological finds. Much of this archaeological heritage was at risk………………….

Address: Via Aldobrandini, 32, 00042 Anzio RM

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Paradise by the sea

 

The Paradise on the sea, also known as the Casino of Anzio or Paradisino, is a historic Art Nouveau building built by the Roman architect Cesare Bazzani.
It is located on the Zanardelli seafront in the city of Anzio, where in 1944, during the Second World War, the Allied forces landed during the landing.
The Paradise consists of an imposing Art Nouveau building with a semi-circular front flanked by two domed towers. The two terraces facing the building are also semi-circular and directly overlook the beach of Anzio. Inside there were two gaming rooms with frescoed ceilings on the upper floor, while the lower floor housed the dining room with the dance floor.

Address: Riviera Zanardelli, 139, 00042 Anzio RM

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Angelita of Anzio

Angelita di Anzio is a 1964 Italian song by the musical group Los Marcellos Ferial . According to the lyrics of the song, a little girl of about five years of age was found alone and crying on a beach on the Lazio coast near present-day Anzio , at the time of the Anzio landing , in January 1944 , when the second world war was entering its climax.

According to the best known version of the story, the Scottish soldier of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, Christopher S. Hayes, and some of his comrades, or perhaps some Brazilian soldiers, picked up the little girl and, since they were unable to find her family or any other information on her, they adopted her and gave her the name Angelita.

A few days later, when the belated German reaction had become concrete and decisive, the little girl died during a bombing together with a nurse to whom she had been entrusted.

Many years later the Municipality of Anzio, considering the popularity that the handed down story had acquired and its possible symbolic value, decided to erect a monument dedicated to the little girl. The work, entrusted to the sculptor Sergio Cappellini , represents the little girl surrounded by a flight of seagulls.

The inauguration of the monument took place on 22 January 1979 , on the occasion of the World Year of Children.

Address : Riviera Vittorio Mallozzi, 00042 Anzio RM

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Fisherman's Monument

The Monument, created thanks to the extraordinary commitment of the Committee, chaired by Ciro Spina, with the artistic direction of Dr. Andrea Mingiacchi, in synergy with the Municipal Administration, was created by the artist Leonardo Carrano and created at the artistic laboratories of Dino Villitri in Anzio.

Address : Via Nazario Sauro, 18, 00042 Anzio RM

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Monument to Emperor Nero

 

In the gardens on the Riviera Mallozzi, in front of the ancient Roman port, a short distance from the archaeological park of Nero's villa, an unusual monument has stood since 2010, dedicated to one of the most discussed characters in ancient history: Nero. The emperor was born in Anzio in 37 AD and historians are finally re-evaluating his figure, much loved by the people for the reforms he was able to implement and for the peace that characterized his principality.

Nero, depicted in a toga and with his right arm raised in the gesture of address like the Augustus of Prima Porta, is the work of the sculptor Claudio Valenti and was created thanks to the contribution of the entrepreneur Elia Bentura, the municipal administration and private citizens.

The sculpture, including the base, is approximately three and a half meters high.

The statue's gaze is turned towards the sea, towards the horizon. as Valenti explained. The left hand seems to hint at contact with its earth.

The motivation for the monument is on the plaque placed at the foot of the sculpture "Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, born in Anzio on 12/15/37 AD with the name of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina Minore, sister of Emperor Caligula. In 54 AD he became emperor by acclamation of the Praetorians. During his principate the empire experienced a period of peace, of great splendor and of important reforms.

 

Address: Giardinetti Riviera Mallozzi

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Monument to Pope Innocent XII

 

In 1692 Innocent XII had the new aqueduct of Civitavecchia built, declared the port a free port and gave it the title of City[5].

He ordered the construction of the port of Anzio (nicknamed "of Nettuno"), which brought growth and development to the Lazio town[11]. He had two customs offices opened in Rome, one for the traffic of goods by water (at the port of Ripa Grande), the other for goods by land (in the temple of Hadrian in Piazza di Pietra). He strengthened military defenses on the coastline to counter the threat of the Barbary Corsairs.
In 1693 he decided to reorganize public assistance in Rome, starting by collecting abandoned children in a single institution and in a single place, planning to also concentrate the other categories of poor people assisted (at the time looked after in Ponte Sisto and at the Lateran Palace). Thus was born the nucleus of what became the apostolic hospice of San Michele a Ripa Grande.
On the occasion of the Jubilee of 1700, the pontiff opened a new road connection between the Via Appia Antica and the Via Campana (today Via Appia Nuova), still known as Via Appia Pignatelli.
The pontiff also reiterated the ban on playing the lottery. The provision, like the previous ones, found it difficult to apply due to the Romans' inveterate propensity for betting.

Address: Piazza Pia, 00042 Anzio RM

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Monument to the fallen of Anzio

The stele in question is located in Piazza Garibaldi, and commemorates all the citizens of Anzio who fell in the First and Second World Wars.

The city of Anzio, from a war point of view, is particularly linked to the landing of Anglo-American troops here in 1944.

The stele was erected here in 2014.

Address : Riviera Zanardelli, 29 - 00042 Anzio RM

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World War II bunker

 

The ceremony for the recovery of an Italian bunker dating back to the Second World War and used by German soldiers took place this morning (20 January 2016).

The precious historical find, which has not been valorised until now, is located in Lido Marechiaro in the Fornace area.

The city authorities were present on site for the occasion.

 

Address: Marechiaro beach between the “Sole e Luna” and “Blu Bay” bathing establishments. Via Ardeatina, 103 – 00042 - Anzio

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Nero's Villa

 

Archaeological area which includes: the port, built by the emperor Nero, with a surface area of ​​34 hectares and of which the two piers remain visible, and the area of ​​the port warehouses (known as Nero's Caves) at the base of the western pier , the imperial Villa which extends over an 800 meter front overlooking the sea. The first nucleus of the building dates back to the Republican age (2nd century BC) with subsequent enlargements and enrichments in the subsequent Augustan, Julio-Claudian, Hadrianic and Severian ages. There you can see the remains of the walls, mosaic floors, the heating system of the "Calidarium" of the attached baths and a cryptoporticus known as the "Library of Domitian". The villa hosted all the emperors from Augustus to the Severi and was particularly dear to Augustus himself, to Nero who was born there, to Hadrian who described it as one of the most beautiful places in Italy. The area of ​​the villa included the Temple of Fortuna Anziatina, one of the largest places of worship in the ancient world since the protohistoric age and sung by the Latin poet Horace: "O Diva gratum quae regis Antium".

Address: Via Fanciulla d'Anzio, 00042 Anzio RM
Telephone: 06 9849 94087

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Roman Theater of Anzio

 

The Roman theater of Anzio is located on the Santa Teresa plateau, just north of the town centre: today it is a residential area, but in the past it was occupied by ancient Anzio , of which only a few traces remain. On the dating of the structure, scholars have so far agreed that the construction of the theater was to be correlated with Nero's deduction of a colony of praetorian veterans in the second half of the 1st century AD;

The structure, over the course of its long history, was not just a theater: it fell into disuse and was reused as a place for firing ceramics; evidence of reuse comes from an arched furnace found at the end of the median ring corridor which was dug under the old walking surface for approximately 1.5 meters and the furnace was installed there. The new flooring was made with reused marble slabs among which coins from the 5th-6th century were found, which allow us to date the furnace phase. In the opposite parodos there are the remains of another smaller furnace. The complete defunctionalization of the structure occurs with the burial of some individuals in the area of the scene.

 

Address : Piazzale Romano Teatro, 21, 00042 Anzio RM

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Vallo Volsco Park

 

The long gully that surrounded the Vignacce plateau for 4 km, today the residential district of S.Teresa, constituting a precious natural defense for the inhabitants who succeeded one another in that place throughout history, is now, in its final stretch, overlooking the street Nettunense, public park.

In approximately two hectares of lawn and trees you can enjoy a particular relaxation spot; a path equipped with benches, baskets and full of spots of shade and a mini wooden chalet which acts as a welcome point and is equipped with toilets, make the place very hospitable. In the park you are immersed in greenery and protected on three sides by the macco buttresses of the S.Teresa hill, at the top of which you can glimpse the Picasso art school, by those of the municipal cemetery and by the thick scrub that blocks the continuation of the gully towards North East. Towards the south-west however, where the entrance gates open, the view extends towards the sea. It goes without saying what the effect is at sunset.

Address: Viale Santa Teresa - 00042 Anzio RM

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Anzio Landing Museum

The Museum was inaugurated on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the landing of Anzio on 22 January 1994, and is located in one of the rooms of the seventeenth-century Villa Adele, a few steps from the train station and the city centre, easily reachable on foot.
Created on the initiative of the members of the "Research and documentation center on the landing and the battle of Anzio", the Museum is divided into four sections: American, English, German and Italian. Uniforms, weapons, decorations, documents, battle plans, photos of veterans and everyday objects are displayed in the windows and noticeboards; all strictly authentic.
The Museum is completed by: photo library, tape library, library, newspaper library. Flags, collections of vintage prints, motor vehicles, etc. they enrich the already large collection which is increasingly expanding with donations from museums and from veterans of the belligerent countries.

Many finds come directly from the seabed of Anzio, where, at various depths, aircraft, warships and cargo ships, landing craft often lie with the crew, such as the British cruisers "Janus" and "Spartan" and the ship "St. David" hospital.

It is not, as one is led to believe, the usual anonymous, cold collection of objects, but an authentic, exciting and instructive historical "revisitation" understood above all as the exaltation of peace and the condemnation of war. A reflective pause and a message directed to young people who, fortunately, did not know the horrors of that period and to the elderly and veterans "of the landing and the battle" so that, remembering the hard days of Anzio, they continue to fight in defense of democracy and peace.


Address: Via di Villa Adele, 2, 00042 Anzio RM

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Civic archaeological museum of Anzio

 

The new Civic Museum occupies part of the ground floor of Villa Adele, a building with a seventeenth-century core, commissioned by the Pamphily family and enlarged between the 18th and early 20th centuries by subsequent owners. Currently, the villa and the adjoining garden are municipal property. The ground floor houses, in addition to the Museum, a large multipurpose room and the
"Landing Museum", with an exhibition of objects and documents describing the war events of 1944. The Municipal Library is located on the second floor of the building. The Museum illustrates the birth and development of ancient Antium, with insights into some peculiar aspects of the city in ancient times, such as the villas, the port and the navy. The materials on display come from both recoveries and recent archaeological excavations. The route is marked by information totems, where passages from ancient authors are reported, accompanied by a commentary that illustrates the most significant events in the history of the city.​

Address: Via di Villa Adele, 2, 00042 Anzio RM
Telephone: 06 9849 9427

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Tourist accommodation in Anzio

A fascinating experience in one of the most original locations in Anzio, where guests are welcomed among rarities and marine finds.

Ask me anything! I'm here to answer any questions you have.

alloggituristicidianzio@gmail.com

Tel: 3401500285

stay in Anzio

Via di Villa Claudia, 16/A
00042 - Anzio - Rome - Italy

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