Rural and maritime traditions, the double identity of Formia in a single history.

Today Formia is a thriving town of industrious and cheery people happy to include tourists in their everyday lives in a friendly way. The locals keep the Italian festive habit of enjoying ‘a passegiata’ (walk in the main streets) whilst enjoying a ice cream (Formia is plenty of excellent ‘gelaterie’ (ice creams shops) between a window shop and another. As far its small medium size towns, Formia it's full of liveliness.

The main avenue Via Vitruvio is full of life with shops of any kind and small but pretty boutiques. The town offers really nice and convenient shopping facilities with great display of good quality shops in both directions over Via Vitruvio, the town high street. . There are also few large shopping centres opened in suburban areas in the last ten years. The vast array of shops shows the hard work and business sense of locals.

 Narrow street in Mola’s
          district

But even under a first impression of a modern town Formia shows its real nature of old sea port behind the corners of secondary street and alleys or in semi-hidden avenues around its commercial and tourist ports or along its high districts up towards the town hillside.

By choosing one of the many sunny days and walking near one of its harbours it is common to observe old seamen repairing nets or fishing boats, simple scenes of every day life portray the old origins of the town and its close relationship with the sea. In its medieval quarters of Mola and Castellone we will discover an area rich in history. Of pre-Italic and Aurunco origins, as demonstrated by the ring of polygonal walls and numerous other remains scattered all over the territory, Formia was always a popular local harbour and holiday resort.

The town boasts the ruins of numerous villas. The sights include the "piscinae", remains of the small Roman harbours and fishing pools of Caposele, the ruins of the temple of Janus, Trajan's theatre and the remains of an amphitheatre. Formia has a long of history which left numerous marks among harbours and alleys and interesting archaeological museum with interesting statues and coins of the Roman era.

The ancient Italic (Aurunci) and Roman origins, the domination of the Lombards, Saracens and later of the Normans, followed by the struggle for power among noble families (Caetani, Colonna, Carafa) lasting until 1806, are all evidence of the strategic importance and wealth of the town. The name of Formia originates from 'Hormiai', an ancient Greek word meaning ‘good port’ and the town is mentioned by the great Roman poets such as Pliny, Horace and Cicero as being in a territory with a mild climate right in the middle of the land of the Lestrigoni who, in mythology, were the giants who met Ulysses.

It was no mere chance that it was chosen by such important characters of Rome’s history who made the area their place of vacation and rest from the intense life of the eternal city. Formia was known as a seaport anchorage even before the Roman age and its territory was populated by the Italic population of Ausonii, an ancient tribe occupying this area between the Garigliano river, the sea and the Aurunci Mountains. The territory of Formia was later on occupied by another Italic population, the Volsci, before the final annexation to the growing influence of Rome. Later on the town became a member of the Latin Lega (Alliance) and obtained Rome’s partial citizenship in 338 BC.