A Journey along the Ulixe's coast
Riviera di Ulisse is the soupart of the coast of Rome extending 70 km south of Rome, to Circeo, Terracina, Sperlonga and Gaea.
Imagine a long stretch of wild rocky coast, punctuated by sandy beaches and recultivated plains, a visual experience that astonishes most travellers new to the Ulixes Coast.
The Ulixes Coast is where the Ausoni and Aurunci Mountain chain rises 1500 metres above sea level, breaks off from the Appennini plummets into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The terminus is an array of reefs, precipices and sandy inlets separated by ancient watch-towers built in a time to prevent the visits of the unwelcomed Saracen invaders.
It is a land rich in exceptional archaeological finds, with recently created natural parks and marine reserves that respect of the breathtaking environment of the Regional Park Riviera di Ulisse. Established on February 6, 2003, the park extends from the Suburban Regional Park of Monte Scauri on the southern border of Formia to the Sperlonga's Monument Promontory Villa di Tiberio and Coast Torre Capovento-Punta Cetarola to the north, winding its way through Gaeta's Bay with its regional urban park of Monte Orlando.
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The Blinding of Polifemus in the Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga.
According to Homer's account, Aeneas stopped over at Gaeta before reaching Lavinium [where he lost his nurse, Cajeta] AND Ulysses moored his ships in what is now the Gulf of Gaeta to take on water, and at Terracina, Ulysses buried his friend, Elpenor AND on the slopes of Monte Circeo is where Ulysses lived for many years with his lover {Circe} AND Anzio supposedly took its name from Anteios, one of his children by Circe.
In The National Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga, there is a group of statues that recall the journey of Ulysses!
We will also visit the "Grotta di Tiberio" In the grotto were found fragments of huge sculptures which once adorned the man-made fishponds at the cave mouth. These marble statues, dating from the 2nd century BC, depicted scenes from Homer's "Adventures of Odysseus".
Imagine that you have been invited to feast with Tiberius in his glorious dining cave. Torches line the walls. As the flames flicker, the Odyssean sculptures that surround your dining couch seem almost to come to life Before your very eyes, the wily and daring Odysseus performs the superhuman feats that generations have celebrated. Is it the light? Is it the wine? Or have you entered the realm of gods and heroes?
Outside the cave, the waves lap the sandy shore, making a rhythmic noise that reminds you that in his long bout with post-Trojanic stress, Odysseus’s ship ploughed that very sea, stopping just a few miles away on Monte Circeo where the hero took up residence with Circe, an enchantress whose pharmaceutical powers caused Odysseus to forget his home and family temporarily and to live happily as her consort. From their union sprang a family so powerful as to now lead the Roman Empire.
Will it end here? Will the villa at Sperlonga (along with the 12 on Capri) satiate our Emperor’s desire for luxury settings? Or will Tiberius be lured away by the song of the sirens?