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Sabaudia, wild beauty
Sabaudia, nestling on the Pontine Plain, is a “New Town” founded in the Ager thanks to the Integrated Land Reclamation of the early 20th century.
Over the previous centuries, several attempts at reclamation were made by the Romans, by Theodoric and by Popes Leo X, Sixtus V and Pius VI. However, only the latter succeeded in reducing the surface area of the swamp at the end of the 18th century, thanks to the construction of a canal that still runs parallel to the Appian Way and flows into the sea in Terracina. In the 1930s, the Pontine Marshes were reclaimed by the "Integrated Land Reclamation", allowing Sabaudia to be developed. Inaugurated on 15 April 1934, eight months after the laying of the foundation stone, it was built according to the design of a group of four architects: Gino Cancellotti, Eugenio Montuori, Luigi Piccinato and Alfredo Scalpelli, who imagined it ready to become an important sports centre. The urban centre follows that of other "New Towns": two orthogonal streets with Piazza della Rivoluzione in the centre and public buildings around it.
Despite its young age, the city retains important evidence of settlements prior to its foundation. Bridging the gap with the past are the remains of the ancient Roman imperial villa Villa di Domiziano and the Fonte di Lucullo, an artificial Roman cave that serves as a water cistern.
Outside the urban centre, an extraordinary natural oasis awaits you. The wide open spaces and the fields invite you to take long walks. The coastal lakes, Paola, Monaci and Caprolace, together with the Circeo National Park create a marvellous environment in perfect balance for biodiversity. The coastal lakes, extending longitudinally to the coast and separated from the sea only by a thin cordon of dunes, give you a unique panorama and the feeling of living between two water worlds. The Circeo promontory, dominating from the southeast, bewitches you with its grandeur, not to mention the sea with its crystal-clear waters...
Sabaudia has always attracted intellectuals and actors with its wild beauty. Pier Paolo Pasolini and Moravia strolled on Sabaudia's beaches in the 1970s. It was here that Anita Eckberg found the sea of the "dolce vita".
Sabaudia is a perfect natural film set. Carmine Gallone shot Scipio Africanus and Bernardo Bertolucci directed La luna here. Marco Ferreri also chose to shoot some scenes of Storia di Piera here.
Sabaudia is a paradise for water sports lovers. If you enjoy rowing or canoeing, Lake Paola is the ideal place to row and an opportunity to watch Italian and international athletes train.
The food and wine are also excellent, with many typical products of this area: from the DOC Circeo wine to the PDO Buffalo Mozzarella and PDO Buffalo Ricotta from Campania, to the PGI Latina kiwi.
