Anzio

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For the World War II battle, see Operation Shingle. For the two US Navy ships named Anzio, see USS Anzio.

Anzio is a city and resort on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about 33 miles south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbor setting, it is a fishing port popular with tourists and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene. The city bears great historical significance as the site of a crucial Allied landing during World War II.

[Anzio Basilica:[link]]

History

Roman era

Called Antium in ancient times, it was the capital of the Volsci people until it was just far enough to be insulated from the riots and tumults of Rome. When Cicero returned from exile, it was at Antium that he reassembled the battered remains of his libraries, where the scrolls would be secure. Leading Romans built magnificent seaside villas. The Julian and Claudian emperors frequently visited it: Mecenus had a villa at Antium; both Emperor Caligula and Nero were born in Antium; the latter founded a colony of veterans and built a new harbour, the projecting moles of which are still extant.

Remains of Roman villas are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the north-west of the town. Many works of art have been found: the Fanciulla d'Anzio, the Borghese Gladiator (Louvre Museum) and the Apollo Belvedere in the Vatican were all discovered in the ruins of villas at Antium.

Of the villas, the most famous was the Villa of Nero at Antium which cannot be certainly identified, but is generally placed at the so-called Arco Muto, where remains of a theatre (discovered in 1712 and covered up again) also exist. It extended along the coast of the Capo d'Anzio some 800 meters of seafront. Nero razed the former villa on the site, where Augustus had received a delegation from Rome to acclaim him Pater patriae ("Father of his Country") to rebuild on its foundations a villa on a more imperial scale, which was used by each Emperor in turn, up to the Severans. Of the famous temple of Fortune (Horace, Od. i. 35) no remains are known.

Middle Ages

In the Middle ages Antium was deserted in favour of Nettuno: at the end of the 17th century Innocent XII and Clement XI restored the harbour, not on the old site but to the east of it, with the opening to the east, a mistake which leads to its being frequently silted up; it has a depth of about 5 m. The sea is encroaching slightly at Anzio, but some miles farther north-west the old Roman coast-line now lies slightly inland (see Tiber). The Volscian city stood on higher ground and somewhat away from the shore, though it extended down to it. It was defended by a deep ditch, which can still be traced, and by walls, a portion of which, on the eastern side, constructed of rectangular blocks of tufa, was brought to light in 1897. The modern place is a summer resort and has several villas, among them the Villa Borghese.

World War II

Anzio and Nettuno are also notable as sites of an Allied forces landing (Operation Shingle) and ensuing four-month battle during World War II. The Commonwealth Anzio War Cemetery and Beach Head War Cemetery are located here. The battle of Anzio is depicted in the film of Pink Floyd's The Wall and the newly-remastered version of The Final Cut, in the song "When the Tigers Broke Free"; the father of Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters died there in the battle.

Main sights

Transportation

References

• A. Nibby, Dintorni di Roma, i. 181; Notizie degli scavi, passim.

External links

• [Anzio city homepage (in Italian)]
• [Nero's Villa] (in Italiano; illustrated reconstruction of the villa)

 

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