SPERLONGA

Description

Sperlonga is a medieval village built atop a cliff overlooking a stretch of the Mediterranean known as the Tyrrhenian Sea. It’s one of the Borghi piu belli d’Italia, “the most beautiful villages of Italy,” designated by the Borghi Italia Tourist Network. Sperlonga fits the description. The old city is a whitewashed warren of passageways and staircases opening onto cafes and shops, decked in flowers, with a beach-view piazza at the very top where people promenade from sundown until the late hours.

Down below, white sand stretches east and west along the coast, divided into private beaches called lidos each defined by the color of its umbrellas. Twenty euros (about $23) reserves you a couple of chaise longues, an umbrella, and a table on the sand, plus access to a dressing room and cash bar.

And though the newer town is packed with lodges and restaurants, it’s barely a mile wide, from the beach to the highway that skirts the coastal mountains.

The first summer tourist to Sperlonga may have been the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who reigned near the beginning of the first century and built a villa next to a grotto at the farthest end of the beach. It was only discovered in 1957 when the Italian government was building a highway past Sperlonga to Capri and Naples to the south.

Duration – 6-7 hours
Not included in the price: entrance tickets
* the cost of the tour may vary depending on the number of people in the group.