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A Day Trip To Anzio From Rome Is Full Of American History

ByBeppe Castro

During the summer time in Italy, you should take an easy day trip to Anzio from Rome and learn about how American History is alive and worthy of your time.

day trip to anzio from rome - cemetery

Stunning Entrance to Cemetery

Once you decide to extend your time in Rome, and you should definitely do that, you will probably start looking for locations to check out that are close by, easy to travel to, have interesting sites and are convenient enough to allow you to return to your comfortable hotel room in time for a good night’s sleep. One recommendation I have is to check out the historical cities of Anzio and Nettuno.

Historical Day Trip To Anzio From Rome

When I refer to history in Italy, that’s a pretty wide brush that I’m painting with. While the history of these towns are older than Rome and include being the birthplace of emperors Caligula and Nero, my focus is more recent and specifically the period of World War II. At this time Anzio and Nettuno were a single municipality.

Anzio was the location of heavy fighting late in World War II and in January 1944, the Allies achieved what was probably their most complete tactical surprise of the war by landing in excess of 36,000 troops and 3,000 vehicles before midnight in what was known as Operation Shingle, securing a beachhead only 37 miles from Rome. After a withdrawal of German troops, the Allied forces were able to break out, march towards Rome and eventually capture it.

Things To Do In Anzio And Nettuno, Italy

Today these cities are well known for their seaside setting which includes being a fishing port and a departure point for ferries bringing visitors to Ponza, Palmarola, and Ventotene. The town bears great historical significance and many of their beautiful sites are related to the war.

If you are traveling by car, along the coast there are a large number of beaches and resorts, including hotels and restaurants.  In the southern part of Anzio, close to the border with Nettuno, there are many Italian art nouveau style houses.

Easy Traveling From Rome To Anzio and Nettuno

day trip to anzio from rome - beach

Walking Along the Beach in Nettuno, Italy. Obviously off-season!

From Rome, getting to Anzio and Nettuno for a day trip is very simple because there is a regional train route (the FL8) that runs between Rome and Nettuno, with Anzio being the penultimate stop. The travel time is around 1 hour 11 minutes and is currently 3.60€ each way.

I recently took this train to see Nettuno and since I was traveling off-season it was mostly empty. I would imagine, however, that during the summer months it would be a very different experience entirely. It reminds me of the trains going to the Jersey Shore or the Hamptons from Manhattan that required early reservations and a lot of patience.

Things To Do In Nettuno and Anzio

  • The Anzio War Cemetery, not to be confused with the Sicily Rome American Cemetery and Memorial I’ll describe below, is a special and communal cemetery for the local and surrounding peoples. It contains 1,056 graves resulting from the above-mentioned Operation Shingle.
  • The Basilica di Santa Teresa is an architectural complex of religious and artistic interest. Lying at the entrance of the Lazio town, it faces the immense expanse of the sea. It has a relatively recent history, only dating back to May 17, 1925 when Teresa was declared a saint only 28 years after her death.
  • The Villa Imperiale di Nerone is certainly the most impressive and the most famous archaeological remains of ancient Antium. It is a grandiose imperial villa that probably extended along the entire coastal strip. Today we can only partially view its original proportions.
day trip to anzio from rome - World War II Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy
  • The Sicily Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, similar to the Anzio War Cemetery described above, is a World War II military war grave cemetery, however it is American and not Allied forces. The majority of burials at the cemetery are of men that died fighting in the liberation of Sicily, the landings at Salerno and the landings at Anzio.
  • In addition to the sites I’ve listed above, there are also many beaches, World Word II battle sites, restaurants and Baseball to check out.

Should You Rent A Vespa Scooter In Anzio or Nettuno?

Both Nettuno and Anzio are fairly small cities and because of this they are very walkable. There isn’t much of a need for renting a vespa scooter in either Anzio or Nettuno like there is in a bigger city like Vespa rentals in Rome, so my recommendation is to skip the scooter and get the sand between your toes instead.

Other Related Posts That Might Interest You

If you enjoyed this guide for taking a day trip to Anzio from Rome and you were interested in other day trips or more history, these other posts may also be of interest to you:

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