What to See in Ardea: Attractions & Sights

More places of interest

Castrum Inui

Castrum Inui is an archaeological site at the mouth of the Fosso dell'Incastro, on the coast of Ardea, in the Le Salzare area. It lay buried for centuries under a coastal dune about nine and a half metres high, until excavations by the Superintendency, led by Francesco Di Mario in the early two-thousands, brought to light a sanctuary active from the sixth century BC, a fortified castrum of the mid-Republican period and an imperial-era maritime station. The discovery of the walls made it possible to identify it with the Castrum Inui mentioned by Virgil in the Aeneid among the towns founded by Aeneas's descendants; the name comes from Inuus, an obscure Latin god whom the ancients equated with Pan.
What to see
In the sacred area stands temple B, rebuilt several times: the first phase dates from 530-520 BC, the second from the early fifth century, with terracottas showing a battle of Amazons and warriors with horned helmets, and the last from the first half of the third century BC, an Italic temple on a high, intact podium with five steps. In front are two peperino altars facing different ways, one towards the sunset over the sea and the other to the east. Opposite, facing north-east, is the small temple A, whose pediment had a high relief with a seated Minerva armed with helmet and shield.
In the Augustan age a shrine of Aesculapius was added, with a mosaic floor and a statue of the god with his staff and serpent. The castrum enclosure, of tuff blocks with a gate towards the sea, was part of the Roman coastal garrisons; to the north, the maritime station included a heated banqueting hall over the sea, baths, storehouses along the river and landing places.
Visiting
Thanks to burial under the dune the structures are very well preserved. Openings and guided tours should be checked with the bodies that manage the site.
Our editors' tip
According to the archaeologist Mario Torelli the sanctuary would be the landing place of Aeneas described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, with the two altars on which the hero made his first sacrifice: a hypothesis that has won support but also objections among scholars.
Museo Giacomo Manzù

The Giacomo Manzù Museum is a state museum in Ardea devoted to the sculptor from Bergamo, who lived and worked here. The collection was conceived in 1965 by his wife Inge Schabel with the Friends of Manzù committee, which included Cesare Brandi; building began in March 1967 and the collection was inaugurated on 22 May 1969. According to the sources it was the first museum in Italy devoted to a living artist. In 1979 Manzù donated the works to the State, and the museum opened to the public as a branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art on 11 April 1981, in the presence of President Sandro Pertini.
What to see
The museum holds 461 works: about ninety sculptures, including 72 bronzes, two large pieces in ebony and one in alabaster, as well as medals, 55 pieces of jewellery and 334 graphic works, including drawings, engravings and stage designs. Recurring themes are dance, with Passo di danza, and the female figure, with Ballerina, Pattinatrice and Striptease; there is the large bronze group of the Lovers, from the cycle begun in 1965, of which the museum has seven examples.
There are also the preparatory reliefs for the bronze doors of Salzburg Cathedral and the church of Saint Lawrence in Rotterdam. The garden around the building displays some sculptures, such as Nastro, with its curving, sinuous line.
Visiting
The museum is part of the national museums directorate of Rome; opening times and admission should be checked on the official website.
Our editors' tip
Manzù, who died in 1989, was buried at his own wish in the museum park in 1992; in 2021, at his children's decision, his remains were moved to the family home at Colle Manzù, in nearby Aprilia, beside his wife.
Torre San Lorenzo

The tower of Tor San Lorenzo rises in the village of the same name in Ardea, about a hundred metres from the sea, and is considered one of the oldest coastal towers in Lazio. The Apostolic Camera began building it around 1570, at the urging of Pope Pius V, to defend the coast from Barbary pirate raids; it was commissioned by Ascanio Caffarelli, owner of the estate and of the early Christian church of San Lorenzo, from which the tower takes its name. The place already appears in 1074 in a bull of Pope Gregory VII, among the possessions of the basilica of San Paolo fuori le mura.
What to see
The tower is about thirty metres high, with a square base and sloping walls; the walls were reached by a ramp with a drawbridge, and at the top was the parade ground, reached by a stepped masonry ramp. From up there soldiers watched the sea for suspicious ships. It was part of a system of twelve towers along the Lazio coast, and according to the sources it was considered the most imposing on the Roman coast, so much so that the Turkish corsairs called it la Pomposa.
Around it stretches a belt of dunes up to ten metres high, covered in dense Mediterranean scrub; rare purslanes and the sea daffodil, a protected species, grow on the beaches to the north. The tower was damaged by bombing in the Second World War.
Visiting
Over the centuries the San Lorenzo estate passed to the Caffarelli, Bartoli and Pallavicini families. Any visits should be checked with the Pro Loco of Tor San Lorenzo, active since 1997.
Our editors' tip
In 1979, at Spiagge di San Lorenzo, about 500 metres from the sea, hundreds of prehistoric pottery fragments were found: a settlement stood on the edge of the ancient coastal lagoon.