All the Way to Anzio, Italy

A Visit to Anzio 

As you head south and begin to leave the great metropolis of Rome behind, it takes a surprisingly small amount of time to move beyond the urban madness to find those pockets of unspoilt innocence that lend colour to any journey.

Anzio - less than an hour from Rome - has a commercial centre that serves its purpose. But head to the harbour. This seaside promontory is something special. The elongated port is lined with small boats and fishermen on -selling their day's catch. Restaurants edge the pier, with their roll-up canvas awnings and ever-changing views stretching out across the water. Here, the freshest of fish can be enjoyed and the salt air just adds to the flavour.

Anzio as a town has had to endure a lot. World War II was not kind to Anzio. Nettuno -  the neighbouring town -  and Anzio were the sites of several critical battles during this most gruesome of wars, and there was significant loss of life in these towns.




Allied bombing did take its toll on Anzio but a number of villas survived and are landmarks today. In particular a villa belonging to Cicero - yes, that most famous of Roman politicians and orators, - dominates the hillside overlooking Anzio's vibrant harbour. Popes, cardinals and emperors all enjoyed the charms of Anzio as it developed into a town of summer residences for the wealthiest citizens of Rome.













Today Anzio is a much more humble town, in many respects rebuilt almost from scratch due to war, yet retaining enough of the old to still have a charm all its own.


In Anzio expensive pleasure boats dock alongside tiny fishing boats. 1950s apartments rub shoulders with sixteenth century villas. Tourists sit with locals. Fishermen studiously ignore photographers. The tree-covered hillside grounds of the ancient villas spill down almost to the water's edge.








For such a mistreated town it is astonishing that such colour, vibrancy and charm has managed to hold on and re-emerge despite its trials.

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