Sperlonga

Sperlonga is a coastal town in Italy, in the province of Latina in the Lazio region with 3323 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012). It is located 116 km southeast of Rome.

Geography

Sperlonga is situated about halfway between Rome and Naples. Surrounding cities are in the West Terracina, Fondi in the North, Itri to the east and Gaeta to the southeast. The Old Town is accessible from sea only on foot, since it consists of small streets with lots of stairs. While the summer is especially popular beach tourism for many guests, the rocks between Sperlonga and Gaeta October to March are a popular destination for sport climbing.

History

The long history of the place is reflected in ancient Roman villas and a cave that is brought into the local histories of the Roman emperor Tiberius in context. There is also a beautiful medieval old town, originally built as a fortress.

Today is a tourist attraction of Sperlonga. Especially the Tiberius Grotto with its excavations should be emphasized. In this grotto where Tiberius the tradition held by decadent feasts, an art-historically extremely important find was made: an oversized sculptural group representing Odysseus in battle with the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, created by the great Polydorus, from which the famous Laocoon comes.

Dialect

Sperlonga is situated about ten kilometers south of the former border of the old Vatican City State whose border is still visible through a landmark on the road between Terracina and Fondi. Sperlonga is therefore - south of Terracina - the first place belongs to the dialect in pronunciation of Italian in the space of the Neapolitan dialect. In Terracina, you can hear the influence of the dialect of Rome.