Rome Nettuno

Nettuno has a secure place in the history of disasters. Following the collapse of the Empire, Roman refugees in flight from marauding Goths installed themselves in the shadows of a coastal temple to Neptune 60km south of Rome. WWII saw the partial destruction of Nettuno and nearby Anzio, when amphibious Allied forces emerged from the Tyrrhenian Sea to initiate their advance upon Nazi-occupied Rome.

A walk down V. Colombo from the train station takes you to the shore and the perpendicular V. Matteoti. Turn left onto V. Matteoti in order to descend to the marina, which teems with sailboats. As in Anzio, many of Nettuno’s beaches are controlled by private establishments, or stabilimenti. Entrance to these beaches is “free,” provided that you rent a beach umbrella and a chair for an easy €15. However, if you continue left past the marina and the church, you will reach the public beach, which can get quite crowded in the summer as Romans go on their weekend getaways.

Nettuno fortunately offers more than overpriced skin-scorching. Sites of historical and aesthetic interest include a highly touristed, walled medieval quarter; to the right of the marina, the walls of the Borgo Medioevale preserve a congregation of vaulted passageways and narrow piazze, plus a handful of less archaic nightspots. A right from V. Colombo onto V. Matteoti will take you to P. San Francesco. It’s dominated by the Fortezza Sangallo, a turn-of-the-16th-century fortress that houses the Museo dello Sbarco Alleato, a collection devoted to the Allied landing. The museum contains a piecemeal collection of photographs from the Allied invasion of Italy, various military paraphernalia, and enlarged American newspaper descriptions of the landing. (Both Fortezza and museum open Tu-Su 9am-1pm and 2-6pm. Wheelchair-accessible. Free.)

Another plaintive reminder of Lazio’s unfortunate position in the path of the WWII juggernaut is the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, stretching over 77 acres of Italian cypress trees, trickling fountains, and expansive verdant lawns. To reach the cemetery, turn right coming out of the train station and then right again onto V. Santa Maria. Arching rows of solemn white crosses extend across the sloping green grass. A walk among the seemingly numberless graves of 7861 Americans—and around the memorial to the 3095 missing—is a disquieting way to spend a day of vacation, but plenty of tourists make the trek. The majority of these soldiers died during the 1943-44 Italian campaign, which began with the invasion of Sicily and ended with the liberation of Rome. The memorial at the top of the park contains a chapel as well as extensive map murals depicting the Allied drive up the peninsula. Americans run the information office to the right of the entrance, and will provide information and help locate graves. (Cemetery Information Office open daily 9am-5pm.)

Take the regional train from Termini to Nettuno (1hr., every hr. 6:10am-9:10pm, €3.20). Nettuno is the last stop, about 5min. from Anzio. COTRAL buses depart for Anzio (every 15-30min., €1) from P. IX Settembre, in front of the train station. Get tickets at the tabacchi inside the station. The town’s Pro Loco tourist office is in the right corner of marina. (☎06 98 03 335; www.proloconettuno.it. Open M-Sa 10am-12:30pm and 5-7:30pm.)