Sabaudia is a “Città di Fondazione”, this is how towns born from a unitary project are defined. In the Agro Pontino there are five such towns. It was created in 1933, in the same year as Latina, Pontinia, Pomezia and Aprilia. It preserves the original urban and architectural layout and, so it is also called the Town of Rationalism.
photo by Simone Varsalona Facebook @prolocosabaudia
The charm of the airy, balanced architecture with porticoed squares includes the Town Hall and the 46-metre Civic Tower, the House of the Combattente, the after-work club with café and theatre, the covered market and the Post Office. Designed by Mazzoni, it is the most architecturally interesting building in Sabaudia. Light blue is the Casa Savoia, with thousands of mosaic tiles that cover it almost completely. And then, the large windows framed by a red Siena marble, from which the large internal room takes light. Immortalized in architectural texts, the staircase accesses the caretaker house, with a tree in the middle.
Sabaudia LT – Instagram @logomaco
Not to be missed is the Church with the Bell Tower slightly higher than the civic one, 47 metres. And again, the Canonical House with the beautiful internal courtyard, the baptistery and the asylum. Named after the Santissima Annunziata, the church preserves the Royal Chapel inside, a true jewel donated by Elena di Savoia to the ‘new town’, named after the ruling house.
Lago di Paola
Exceptional views and green spaces surround the church, such as the Circeo National Park, the Biosphere Reserve – Area MAB, UNESCO’s ‘Man and the Biosphere’ since 1977. A single glance embraces the relaxing waters of Lake Paola inhabited by herons and egrets, and the coastal dunes and the white beach of over 20 km. And then the sea in the shadow of the imposing Circeo Promontory, almost an island with the profile of the legendary Circe, the sorceress who bewitched Ulysses.
sea and lake Paola seen from Monte Circeo
In the Imperial Age, around the 1st century AD, the Roman patricians chose Lake Paola as a holiday destination. Emperor Domitian built a great Villa with a theatre, gym, swimming pool and spa. Right here in 1700 a statue of Apollo was found, now in Kassel, Germany, and the statue of a Satyr with a transverse flute preserved in the Vatican Museums. The Source of Lucullus also belongs to the Domitian age, an artificial cave created as a cistern for drinking water and the supply the imperial baths.
Santuario della Sorresca – Instagram @circeo_incanto
The thirteenth-century Sanctuary of Sorresca is a small church built on the remains of a Roman villa, hosting a wooden statue of the Madonna and Child.
The dunes of Sabaudia
Sabaudia has been reconfirmed F.E.E. Blue Flag several times, the important recognition that rewards the quality of the sea, the environment, the beauty of the place and its livability. In Sabaudia there is one of the 10 Green Flags, the award for the most welcoming child friendly beaches.
In Sabaudia, My Love Help Me with Alberto Sordi and Monica Vitti
The dunes of Sabaudia have fascinated Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini and even Alberto Sordi in “Amore Mio Aiutami”. In 1969 he played the part of Giovanni, mad with jealousy for his wife Raffaella (Monica Vitti), beating her, or rather beating her stunt double, the singer Fiorella Mannoia.
Furthermore, one of the 5 stamps issued by the Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy with the thematic series “Natural and landscape heritage“, dedicated to the sea in Italy, celebrates Sabaudia. The stamp, depicting the panorama from above Lake Sabaudia, was issued on July, 11, 2023.
Among the main events in summer, the Sunset Jazz Festival and the jazz concerts on the beach at sunset, have been scheduled in July for years. From the end of July to the beginning of August, Il Parco e la Commedia wait for you in the Cavea of the Circeo National Park in Sabaudia with live shows in the green heart of the Circeo National Park.