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The map of the lake between Terracina and Sperlonga | |
Newsletter May 2008
The Natural Monument Reserve of the Lake of Fondi
Topic : Parks - Nature
Itinerary :
Undiscovered Italy off the beaten track
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Starting point:
Gaeta’s marina (lungomare) to Fondi Lake south banks in Via Sugarelle – 04022 Fondi Lake
29,5 Km from Gaeta one way distance by car
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Places of interest :
Natural Monument Reserve Lake of Fondi (Lago di Fondi)
10 minutes to medieval Terracina district (8 km)
20 minutes to the medieval centre of Fondi (11 Km)
20 minutes to the ancient Temple of Anxur above Terracina (12 Km)
20 minutes from the Aurunci Mountains Park (western border near Fondi 11 Km)
25 minutes from Sperlonga village (9Km)
35 minutes from the Circeo Promontory and Circeo National Park.(28 Km)
30 minutes from Natural Monument Reserve of Camposoriano (21 Km)
10 minutes from the Sughereta di San Vito, one the largest woods of Cork Oaks in Italy (6 km from the lake north banks)
25 minutes from Roman Emperor Tiberius villa and grotto archeological Museum (11 Km from the lake south banks)
5 minutes from Salto di Fondi beaches (2 Km from the lake south banks)
25 minutes from the town and its port of San Felice Circeo: 20 km;
35 minutes from the ancient and beautiful Fossanova Abbey (Abbazia di Fossanova): 25 km; majestic abbey in Romanesque style and one Gothic, declared national monument in 1874, was founded in the vicinity of Priverno by Benedictine monks in the 11th century above the ruins of a Roman villa. The superb Capitular Hall is also gothic, and was restructured around 1250. The guest quarters still preserve the cell where St. Thomas Aquinas died in 1274 during the stop on his journey to Lyons.
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Things to Do in the Area :
Beaches and swimming, (Salto di Fondi) beach walking, a long coast of about 13 km is washed by the Tyrrhenian sea. The coast offers wonderful beaches of fine and golden sand. There are stretches where the dune and the species of Mediterranean scrub are still intact, especially between Capratica and Lake Lungo north near Sperlonga;
wind-surfing, fishing, excellent local gastronomy, archeology sites, countryside and free climbing on the Ausoni Mountains, para-gliding on the Aurunci Mountains, sailing, clubs and discos in summer time, gastronomic events, religious events.
Birdwatching: 73 species of birds found on the lake as nesting or regular visiting species (40% of which among protected species for EU)
Canoeing: bring down your canoe and you will have a fantastic picnic day after an energizing lake sightseeing from the middle of the lake.
Fishing: ask for a fishing license first!
Walking and excursions: amazingly beautiful countryside all around the lake and the hills nearby
Medieval centre of Fondi:
with the old town centre, the main monuments, the Castle of Fondi, the beautiful Fondi Baronial Palace dated from the middle of the XV century, it was
the residence of the famous and beautiful
Giulia Gonzaga, the Judea and its Jewish quarter, Saint Mary Church, Saint Peter
Church. Outside the old town centre you can admire Saint Francis Church and its cloister, and the Appian way which joined in the past, Rome to Brindisi. Inside the Baronial Castle there is the Civic Museum which keeps also antique statues and other works of art. The Castle has always been the symbol of the town. The highest tower is the keep, it is 33 meters high.
The Jewish quarter takes up the entire north-east of the old town centre.
The outside stairs of the houses are all facing an only centre: the Synagogue. The so-called 'House of Spirits' has been formally recognized
as place of worship after the finding of the sign of the 'mezuzah' on its left portal.
Medieval village of Monte San Biagio:
Beautiful little village with less than 6,000 people located on the slope of a hill part of the Monti Ausoni with a perfect view of the lake. The origins of the current city date back from the Middle Ages, when a castle was founded (over Roman ruins) here as a stronghold of the Duchy of Gaeta first and, later, of the Duchy of Fondi. The first document mentioning the Castrum Monticelli, however, is from 1099, from the archives of Monte Cassino. Cultural sightseeing: The little, beautiful medieval village of Monte San Biagio is nestled on the hills near the lake and well visible from its banks. Don’t miss in the village old centre the Church San Giovanni Battista (VII sec.), Monte San Biagio castle of Longobard origins (VII century) and the Door of San Rocco (Porta di S. Rocco) near the Sanctuary of Madonna della Rocca, the Towers dell’Epitaffio on the lake.
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Time way in : 35-45 minutes by car , 25 by motorbike
, by sailing about 2 hour via the canal of Canneto
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Returning : 35-45 minutes by car , 25 by motorbike
, by sailing about 2 hour same as before via
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THE LAKE of FONDI and its Geography
In the middle of the South Pontino mountains, between the south-eastern Ausoni and the western Aurunci Mountains overlooking the Pontine coast, there are many small country roads leading to a wonderful place to discover and enjoy slowly.
Taking one of the many secluded country roads (direction north) on the Via Flacca SS213 road between Terracina and Sperlonga, you will end up in a surprising place, where time and nature created a beautiful, off the beaten track place in Italy: the Lake of Fondi. It’s a peaceful and gentle view. The Lake of Fondi is long, like its long history which started millions years ago’ from the slow action of water, wind and sand dunes which shaped the land and the fields between the sea and lake. The lake is closed between the hills and it’s now a Natural Monument preserved by Lazio regional administration since 2006. It is a typical example of lake with both fresh and salty water with a unique, beautiful green landscape around, a wonderful and unique natural environment typical of the Mediterranean region.
The Lake of Fondi was awarded in 2006 as Natural Monument by the Lazio Region and it is the largest of the coastal lakes in the region with a surface of 4.5 sq. Km and a perimeter of about 27 Km (nearly 17 miles). The lake shores are very uneven, with thick-set of reeds groves and some woods in the green fields around. The entire area is very fertile and well known for the high quality of its production of fruit and vegetables among the best in Italy. The local wholesale market is one of the largest in Italy.
The Lake of Fondi has an average depth of 9,1 meters (almost 30 feet) with the deepest point reaching 30 meters (98,4 feet) and it connected to the Tyrrhenian Sea with 2 long canals of Canneto (2,3 Km – 1,4 miles ) and Sant’Anastasia (3,1 Km – 1,9 miles ). Several other canals provide freshwater to the lake in its northern side and they are the canals of Vetere, San Magno, Marangio, San Vito, Acqua Chiara and Catenaccio.
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The Ausoni Mountains north-west of the lake
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THE LAKE of FONDI – History and heritage of the Lacus Amyclanus
In ancient times (VII-V century BC) the territory around the Lake and the town of Fondi belonged to ancient Italic tribes such as the Volsci and the Ausones or Aurunci tribes before being conquered by the Romans. On the hill of Mt Pianara few miles north-west of the lake travelers can visit the site with the ruins of Amyclae, the ancient city which disappeared mysteriously leaving little trace in the two centuries before the Romans occupation. The Roman name of the lake was Lacus Amyclanus and the coastline nearby was called was known as mare Amunclanum (which in ancient Latin means Amyclae’s Sea) from the ancient legend of Amyclae.
In the ancient Roman age the town of Fondi was called Fundi and in 338 BC received with Formiae the status of Roman citizenship because it had always secured the Romans safe passage through its territory.
The site of the ancient Appian Way (Via Appia) between Fondi and Formia, where it passes through the mountains near Itri, is remarkable example of advanced road engineering by the Romans. The modern town is still enclosed by its ancient Roman walls and recent archaeological discoveries have found that other more ancient walls lie under the Roman ones.
The open-air museum of Tiberius’ Grotto on the nearby Sperlonga coast also belonged to the territory of the ancient Fundi. The grotto was the unusual and unique location of the emperor Tiberius summer residence. This was the imperial villa in which Sejanus saved the life of Tiberius, who during a banquet was almost killed by a fall of rocks in part of the grotto. The amazing site of Tiberius villa are now a museum in the cave from which it took its name, on the protected beach at about 1 mile from the modern village of Sperlonga.
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Chill October day on the north banks of the lake | |
The Regional Superintendence of Archaeological Heritage of Lazio is still working on an interesting archaeological project aiming to unveil the evidence of the production areas of amphorae and the production of wine in southern Lazio between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD. The territory of Fondi lies on rich agricultural area which produced very fine ancient wines: the Cecubus and the Fondanum.
The tables of ancient Rome simply adored the local wine of Fundi, the famous Cecubum much spoken of by ancient writers. In fact, its wine was so famous the this territory was called as the ager Caecubus, (means Cecubum countryside) defining the entire the coast plain around the lake of Fundi.The thriving wine production was often documented in from historic sources from the end of the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd century BC up to the early Imperial Age .
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Today the ancient wines production is also testified by the finding of large amounts of fragments of amphorae, among which also kiln wastes, in three sites in the plain of Fondi: Canneto, Monte S. Biagio and Torre S. Anastasia.
The strong, red wine was even enjoyed and praised by Horace . Pliny the Elder wrote as if its production had almost entirely ceased in his days blaming the neglect and land abandon by the farmers caused by the colossal excavation works of Nero's to build a ship canal from the lacus Avernus near Cuma to Ostia near Rome. Martial mentions it often, and it is spoken of in the inscription of a wine-dealer of the time of Hadrian, together with Falernian and Setian.
On Appian Way (Via Appia) , around the Km 110,500 visitors can enjoy the view of Roman mausoleum attributed to Emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba even though recent research highlighted that the tomb could be that of wealthy Roman Sesto Giulio Frontino, the lucky Roman who possessed a majestic villa nearby. The mausoleum is quadrangular with large stoner and 32 meters of circumference and circa 10 meters high.
This area was also occupied by the Byzantines before going to Rome Catholic Church under San Peter passing by the hands of the Saracens’ raids , Gaeta’s Duchy Hypati and Norman dukes in the Middle Ages. After the Middle ages this land passed in the hands of many powerful families such as Dell'Aquila, the Caetani and Caetani d'Aragona, the Colonna, the Carafa, the Spanish Guzman, the Mansfeldt and the Di Sangro with the title of princes.
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In the 1378 Fondi became the place where Robert of Geneva (1342–16 September 1394) was elected to the papacy as Anti-Pope Clement VII by the French cardinals in opposition to the pope recognized by the Roman Catholic Church and was the first Avignon antipope initiating the Western Schism. In the old Church of San Peter in the town of Fondi visitors can still admire the bishop seat sculptured in marble where Clement VII was elected as the Anti-Pope . The history and heritage of the lake recount also the old tale of the beautiful countess Giulia Gonzaga, whose beauty inspired poets and painters pushing a famous Saracen pirate Red Beard (Barbarossa) to attack the town of Fondi in the night between August 8 and August 9 of 1534 in the attempt to kidnap her and deliver her to his Turkish emperor. Eventually, the beautiful Giulia managed to escape, and Red Beard, frustrated by the failure, slaughtered the population of Fondi and nearby Sperlonga.
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Mediterranean countryside, South Pontino, Italy
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During the Grand Tour age the beauty of the local countryside fields and orange gardens inspired W. Goethe and Dickens writings. During his journey in Italy, after his passage in the plain around the lake, Goethe wrote "Among the green leaves, golden oranges shine...”;many other artists, like French painter Poussin (his painting ‘The Distruction of Amyclae’ representing this territory is now in the National Gallery, London) were inspired by the natural beauty of this area. From the IX century till 19 September 1870 the territory on west banks of the Lake of Fondi marked the border between the Kingdom of Naples and the papal state of Rome. Near the lake on the SS7 Via Appia road to Monte San Biagio there are still the two towers called the Portella marking the old border. Passo di Portella is the local name for the two old towers which were representing the historical border between the Papal state and the Kingdom of Naples tills the 1870. The beginning of the south of Italy, the ‘Mezzogiorno’. They are placed along the modern Via Appia on the old section of the road at the side of the new one on the north side of the lake. In 315 BC the Romans troops won here a major battle against the wild Samnites warriors horde.
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Salto di Fondi 12 miles of sandy beaches near the lake | |
THE LAKE of FONDI – Today’s heritage and traditions
The entire plain of Fondi around the lake is still a strictly rural area with ancient traditions and activities. Fishing and agriculture are still very important in the area around the lake and all over the hills around. The plain of Fondi is famous for the quality of its citrus fruits and it is the northernmost point in Italy where the cultivation of oranges and lemons is regularly carried on in modern times.
Little boats are scattered among deep green groves of reeds in some areas of the lake which is now awarded as Natural Monument since 2006 by the Lazio region.
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Small groups of local fishermen are still fishing in the rich waters of the lake from generation to generation since ancient times; they are after the ‘calamita’, a local species of mullet, the Thin Lipped Grey Mullet (Liza ramada), a tasty fish with a typical mullet shaped grey-blue body. Other species of fish here are also large European eels (Anguilla anguilla), Goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus), Tench (Tinca tinca), striped mullet, (Mugil cephalus), European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and a tiny fish the Sand Smelt (Atherina presbyter) which is fantastic in the fried fish selection of the local South Pontino fish lake cuisine.
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Watching them fishing, pulling their fishing nets increases the feeling of a timeless place and the quietness of the lake conveys a deep charm of its own and carries emotions of a time gone by.
The Lake of Fondi is very near to the sea but it a place very much alive with its own stories, traditions, culinary flavors and recipes with the fish soup, fried frogs and linguine with grey mullet sauce. It is also a place with memories of generations of farmers’ families who for millennia challenged the strength of nature against the water to reclaim the land and transform it from the morasses with soggy ground to fertile fields. The peaceful views of the blue water and of the beautiful fields around keep well hidden all the secrets behind the eternal struggle of man against nature while these landscapes became an implicit part of the local culture and rural heritage of the lake.
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Looking north on the Ausoni hills in a sunny, warm
September day on the south banks
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