The stretch of coast south of Terracina is perhaps the most beautiful in Lazio: the cliff is interspersed with tiny beaches, which are invited by signs placed along the road. Located high on the rocky cape SPERLONGA enjoys local popularity, and in summer it is unfortunately occupied by tourists (fortunately, there is no car entry into the center); the local whitewashed walls and narrow streets look more like Greek than Italian towns. There are some delicious seafood restaurants and some expensive pensions, which, however, often have no vacancies. Perhaps it's better to stay in Terracina, and come here for a day (buses every half hour) because of the beach: long, a vast strip of sand south of the city.
Between the towns of Sperlonga and Gaeta the shore gets steeper, but the number of great beaches and conveniently located campsites is also growing. A few kilometers beyond Sperlonga there is a small museum and the ruins of Tiberius' villa (open all year round from dawn to dusk), where it is worth getting with your own transport. The house was built around a decorative pond, which extends all the way to a large grotto in the coastal rock. The museum houses finds from villas, among which the most important is a large group of statues in the Vatican style Laokootia, perhaps the chisels of the same sculptors.
More or less 10 km further, over a wide bay lies the town of GAETA - from a distance at first you can only see the castle built on the top of the hill. In the panorama of this town, chaotically scattered on a hard-to-reach rock, you can fall in love at first sight, especially coming from the south. The fortress here was impregnable: she repelled the Gothic and Saracen invaders, and then the city flourished under the rule of the Normans - some monuments date back to those times. The tiny church of San Giovanni al Mare by the water was built in the 10th century. At the top of Monte Orlando, now turned into a park, there is a classic tomb of Munatius Plancus, founder of Lyon, decorated with friezes depicting battle scenes. There is a terrace nearby overlooking the Serapo Bay below; next to the terrace is the small church of Santuario del Crocifisso. Built on a boulder thrown through a crack in Montagna Spaccata, it literally seems to be suspended a few hundred meters above the water.
Today Gaeta primarily serves as a naval port and this is what determines its character. Most of the old town is closed to visitors (part of the port and the castle itself), and the waterside bars advertise "burgers and fries” for American sailors going ashore. The main square adjacent to the port, Town Hall Square, it is quite a lively square with a small market, and the AAST office is located in Piazza XIX Maggio (you can get a city map there). However, it is worth coming to Gaeta mainly because of the beaches north of the center, though you must know, that they can be crowded, especially the closest to Spiaggia di Serapo and that almost all have been bought by restaurants.
On the other side of the bay, at the foot of Monti Aurunci, there is a little more interesting FORM, a city with mostly modern buildings. It was an important bathing area in Roman times; Cicero had his villa here. (It was there that he was murdered in 44 r. BC. by Mark Antony's soldiers after having spoken out against the triumvirate, who succeeded Julius Caesar). There are beaches to the north of the city center, and just behind the Piazza Mattei square is the AAST office (pn.-pt. 8.00-13.30, sb. 9.00-12.00). Apart from that, however, Formia is only a convenient stopover with numerous connections to Naples, Rome and CASSINO inland. There are also regular ferries and hydrofoils to PONZA from here. If you are going to leave early in the morning, Check in at the Ariston Hotel closest to the port. A day costs there 50 000 L; cheaper is Marino on the corner of Piazza Vittoria in the center, with rooms more or less 30 000 L. It's best to go to Muro di Nerva for lunch, just north of the Ariston Hotel on the right of the main viale dell'Unita d'Italia, with friendly service and excellent fish dishes.
There is another train station a few kilometers south of Formia, MINTURNA, the last city before the border with Campania. This maze of tiny alleys and vaulted streets resembles an Arab quarter, the medina, in a strange way. Massive, the dilapidated castle on the market was owned by the Carraciolo-Carafa dynasty until the middle of our century; a plaque on the west wall commemorates the visit, which he placed here in 1272 r. st. Thomas Aquinas. Behind the castle is the Norman Duomo, reminiscent of the cathedrals in nearby Sessa Arunca or Ravello, with a similar pulpit covered with colored mosaics. Some 4 km outside the city are the ruins of the ancient Roman port of Mintimae (codz. 9.00-18.00; 2500 L), once flourishing center, which has been depopulated, when this low-lying area has become too malarial. The remains of the great amphitheater are among the most interesting here, below which there is a small antique shop with local finds, and a closed, stretching aqueduct 2 km to the southwest. It is worth stopping here only when traveling south by car; otherwise it is better not to get off the train to Naples.