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Latina is a modern town; in fact it was officially inaugurated on december 18th 1932 with the name of “Littoria”.

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This name was given by Benito Mussolini, the

fascist dictator who successfully realized the

reclamation of the territory where Latina was

later founded.

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Its first inhabitants came from the North of Italy and they had to work

hard in desperateconditions to reclaim the marshes.

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Second World WarDuring the Second World War the town wasseriously damaged by bombing raids and in1946 it was given the new name of “Latina”, inorder to dissociate itself from the fascist

regime.

LATINA

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It was during the 60s and 70s that Latina knew a significant economic growth and a remarkable population increase.

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PLACES TO VISIT IN LATINA

Piazza del Popolo, the main square, in the towncentre, with a round fountain in the middle. The first stone of the new born town was placedhere.

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Piazza del Quadrato

The Town Hall, in the main square, was builtwith the distinctive features of the fascistarchitecture.Piazza del Quadrato was the meeting point

for the first inhabitants, especially farmers and workers.

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The parkThe park, a very popular place, is alwayscrowded with children. Here you can have awalk, ride your bike, go roller skating and playtennis. It is in the town centre.

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Palazzo del GovernoSome buildings in Latina, because of its

origins,were dedicated to the Government of thatperiod. Here are the most important ones.Palazzo del Governo was the main building of

the fascist Government. Now it is the seat of important offices of the town.

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Palazzo “M”

Palazzo “M” is a historical building with theshape of a huge “M”, the initial letter ofMussolini. They say he wanted to write his fullsurname, but he didn’t have time to do that.

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The Post Office

The Post Office is another interesting place to visit, built in the same period, together with“Palazzo del Fascio”, a small building next to

theTown Hall. In the past it was one of the mostimportant administrative offices of theGovernment.

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NEAR LATINA……FOGLIANO LAKEIt is the most northern and the biggest of the fourcoastal lakes of the pontina area. Since 1978 it hasbeen part of the nature reserve of the CirceoNational Park and is classified as a marshy area ofinternational importance.It is an ideal habitat for the stopover, wintering andnesting of a large number of migratory bird species.This place is particularly suited for bird-watchingand nature tours.

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The park was established in 1934 by Mussolini in order to protect not only a single species, but also a rich group of characteristic biomes, with a consequent abundance of species which today has been defined as “biodiversity”. Mussolini wanted this Park also to preserve the last remains of the pontine marshes reclaimed in that period.

CIRCEO NATIONAL PARK

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THE GARDENS OF NINFA

According to the New York Times (16 June 2002), itis the most beautiful garden in the world and it isfor this reason that in 2000 it was designated aNatural Monument of the Italian Republic.The gardens are located on the ruins of the old cityof Ninfa (XII –XIII century), at the bottom of theLepini mountains. After centuries of ruin, marshesand malaria, Ninfa was brought back to its originalglory in the 20th century.

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THE GARDENS OF NINFAInitially Galasso Caetani, the owner, managedthe restoration of the Castle; later he alsoworked on the garden by bringing in plantspecimens from all over the world. Nearly 60,000 tourists a year fall in love with

it:it’s Romanticism come alive!

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SERMONETA

It is a medieval village with high walls round it

and a majestic well-preserved castle.

Castello

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SABAUDIA

It is one of the towns built by Mussolini on thereclaimed marshland of the Agro Pontino, The same on which Latina was built. It is a wonderful coastal town, an hour and a half to the South of Rome.

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SAN FELICE

It is a very beautiful sea town, close to Sabaudia

and Terracina. It is included in the CirceoNational Park. Here you can visit the famous“Grotta Guattari”, one of the oldest

Neanderthalman finding sites in Italy: in fact in 1939 a skullof Homo Neanderthalensis was found.

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It is a pretty white washed coastal village with narrowstreets and alleys, inaccessible to cars. This sea village isfull of little boutiques and craft or jewellery shops. Thesea here is very clean and blue, fed by fresh spring

watercoming from the nearby mountains.Sperlonga is steeped in history having once been thesummer residence of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, whoruled from 14 to 37 AD. Archaeologists have found a lotof sculptures in the cave of his villa, which you can visiton Sperlonga’s south beach.

SPERLONGA

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LEPIN MOUNTAINS

It is a range that covers 80,000 hectares. Its highest peak is the “Semprevisa” (1,536m) At its feet lies the fertile “Pontine plain”, while on the rings of hills you can find a lot of small, but interesting villages such as CORI, NORMA, SERMONETA, SEZZE and BASSIANO.

CORI

NORMA

SEZZE

BASSIANOSERMONETA

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THE PONTINE ISLANDS

They are a pretty archipelago in the TyrrhenianSea, off the Italian coast, opposite Latina.

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PONZA is the main tourist destination and it isthe largest. Its coastal line is a mosaic of multi

coloured rocky cliffs, shores peppered withcaves and grottoes, bays and little beaches.

PONZA

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VENTOTENE

VENTOTENE is 22 miles south-east of Ponza and

is much smaller. The island’s Roman port wasdug out of the volcanic rock. Very close to itthere is the small island of SANTO STEFANO,dominated by a prison built by the Bourbonsand in use until 1965.

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PALMAROLA is smaller and almost uninhabited.Here the sea is very clear and blue.

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The green isle of ZANNONE is a nature reserve

and also the site of a ruined monastery.