Latina is a modern town;

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

This name was given by Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator who successfully realized the reclamation of the territory where Latina was later founded.

Its first inhabitants came from the North of Italy and they had to work hard in desperate conditions to reclaim the marshes.

LATINA Second World War During the Second World War the town was seriously damaged by bombing raids and in 1946 it was given the new name of “Latina”, in order to dissociate itself from the fascist regime.

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

PLACES TO VISIT IN LATINA Piazza del Popolo, the main square, in the town centre, with a round fountain in the middle. The first stone of the new born town was placed here.

Piazza del Quadrato The Town Hall, in the main square, was built with the distinctive features of the fascist architecture. • Piazza del Quadrato was the meeting point for the first inhabitants, especially farmers and workers.

The park The park, a very popular place, is always crowded with children. Here you can have a walk, ride your bike, go roller skating and play tennis. It is in the town centre.

Palazzo del Governo Some buildings in Latina, because of its origins, were dedicated to the Government of that period. 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.

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

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 the Town Hall. In the past it was one of the most important administrative offices of the Government.

NEAR LATINA…… • FOGLIANO LAKE It is the most northern and the biggest of the four coastal lakes of the pontina area. Since 1978 it has been part of the nature reserve of the Circeo National Park and is classified as a marshy area of international importance. It is an ideal habitat for the stopover, wintering and nesting of a large number of migratory bird species. This place is particularly suited for bird-watching and nature tours.

CIRCEO NATIONAL PARK • 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.

THE GARDENS OF NINFA According to the New York Times (16 June 2002), it is the most beautiful garden in the world and it is for this reason that in 2000 it was designated a Natural Monument of the Italian Republic. The gardens are located on the ruins of the old city of Ninfa (XII –XIII century), at the bottom of the Lepinimountains. After centuries of ruin, marshes and malaria, Ninfa was brought back to its original glory in the 20th century.

THE GARDENS OF NINFA Initially GalassoCaetani, the owner, managed the restoration of the Castle; later he also worked on the garden by bringing in plant specimens from all over the world. Nearly 60,000 tourists a year fall in love with it: it’s Romanticism come alive!

SERMONETA Castello It is a medieval village with high walls round it and a majestic well-preserved castle.

SABAUDIA It is one of the towns built by Mussolini on the reclaimed 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.

SAN FELICE It is a very beautiful sea town, close to Sabaudia and Terracina. It is included in the Circeo National Park. Here you can visit the famous “GrottaGuattari”, one of the oldest Neanderthal man finding sites in Italy: in fact in 1939 a skull of Homo Neanderthalensis was found.

SPERLONGA It is a pretty white washed coastal village with narrow streets and alleys, inaccessible to cars. This sea village is full of little boutiques and craft or jewellery shops. The sea here is very clean and blue, fed by fresh spring water coming from the nearby mountains. Sperlonga is steeped in history having once been the summer residence of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who ruled from 14 to 37 AD. Archaeologists have found a lot of sculptures in the cave of his villa, which you can visit on Sperlonga’s south beach.

CORI LEPIN MOUNTAINS NORMA SERMONETA BASSIANO 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. SEZZE

THE PONTINE ISLANDS They are a pretty archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the Italian coast, opposite Latina.

PONZA PONZA is the main tourist destination and it is the largest. Its coastal line is a mosaic of multi coloured rocky cliffs, shores peppered with caves and grottoes, bays and little beaches.

VENTOTENE VENTOTENE is 22 miles south-east of Ponzaand is much smaller. The island’s Roman port was dug out of the volcanic rock. Very close to it there is the small island of SANTO STEFANO, dominated by a prison built by the Bourbons and in use until 1965.

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

The green isle of ZANNONE is a nature reserve and also the site of a ruined monastery.

Latina is a modern town;