Part One:
Part Two:
Some places in Italy are destinations. Others quietly become part of your life. Sperlonga and the Odyssey have been intertwined for nearly two thousand years, but my own relationship with this little whitewashed town on the Lazio coast began much more recently - although long enough ago that there were no cell phones, no internet, no Instagram and certainly no endless stream of recommendations telling you where to eat, what to see and exactly where to stand for the perfect photograph.
Back then, you simply arrived. You looked around and talked to people. You wandered down a street because it looked interesting, stopped at a bar because you liked the view, and decided what to cook for lunch because the tomatoes at the market were irresistible and the fishmonger had something wonderful that had just come in from the sea. That was the Sperlonga I fell in love with, and it’s one of the reasons I still feel such a deep attachment to this extraordinary corner of Italy.
Now Sperlonga is having an unexpected new moment in the spotlight thanks to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. And the connection couldn’t be more appropriate. Long before Hollywood turned its attention to the epic adventures of Odysseus - Ulisse, as we call him in Italian - a Roman emperor created an astonishing celebration of those same adventures in a vast seaside grotto here.
But before we get to emperors, sea monsters and ancient marble sculptures, let me take you back to the Sperlonga I first knew. And if Sperlonga has already captured your attention and you'd like to visit, here's where you can stay.
The Sperlonga I Fell in Love With
For years, my husband Maurizio and I rented an apartment in Sperlonga for the entire month of June. It’s hard to imagine now, but June in those days was wonderfully quiet. There were very few people around, and during the week Maurizio would drive back to Rome for work while I stayed behind, working and writing from our apartment.
It sounds idyllic, and it was. My days developed their own easy rhythm. There was no complicated organization involved in going to the beach and certainly no reservation for a beach chair. I’d take a towel, throw it onto the sand and settle in. I’d spend the morning by the sea, return to the apartment for lunch and head back to the beach sometime in the middle or late afternoon.
One of my favorite rituals was walking along the beach toward Sperlonga Bassa, the lower section of town at sea level, rather than immediately climbing the steps into the historic center above. I’d stop for a coffee at one of the bars overlooking the Mediterranean, perhaps read the newspaper and simply sit there taking it all in. I remember thinking that I might very well be the only foreigner in town. Perhaps I wasn’t, but it certainly felt that way.
That sense of discovery is difficult to recreate today. Nobody was feeding me lists of the “10 Best Things to Do in Sperlonga.” I wasn’t checking reviews before ordering lunch. There was no algorithm deciding what I should see next. I could simply explore and slowly get to know a place on my own terms.
When Lunch Begins at the Market
Eventually, of course, I’d start thinking about lunch. In the main square in Sperlonga Bassa there were fruit and vegetable vendors, including an elderly couple whose stand became one of my regular stops. I’d see what looked particularly good that morning - tomatoes, vegetables, fruit - and buy whatever appealed to me. Then I’d head to the little seafood shop to see what had come in from the sea.
I didn’t begin with a recipe or even necessarily with an idea of what I wanted to cook. Lunch developed from what I found. That was one of the most important things Italy taught me about cooking, long before expressions like “farm to table” became fashionable. Instead of deciding exactly what you were going to cook and then setting off in search of the necessary ingredients, you looked at what was wonderful that day and allowed the ingredients to tell you what lunch should be.
Sperlonga is particularly suited to this way of eating because of its geography. The Mediterranean stretches out in front of you, while behind the town lies extraordinarily fertile agricultural land around Sperlonga and nearby Fondi, with mountains rising beyond it. Tomatoes, vegetables, olives and fruit thrive here, while the sea provides the other half of the local table.
Perhaps tomatoes really do taste better when you’re barefoot, a little sunburned and looking at the Mediterranean. But I don’t think that was the whole explanation. The vegetables I was eating had often been grown practically where I was standing, and the fish had been swimming in the sea directly in front of me.
Telline: Tiny Clams and a Taste of the Lazio Coast
If you’ve spent time along the Lazio coast, you may already know these tiny clams that live just beneath the sand in shallow water. For me, they’re inseparable from memories of summer by the sea. We’d stand in the water talking with newly acquired friends while moving our heels through the sand. Every now and then, you’d feel something hard beneath your foot. A tellina. You’d reach down, pick it up, and continue your conversation.
There was something wonderfully casual about it. We weren’t setting out on an organized expedition to gather shellfish. We were standing in the Mediterranean chatting, and at the same time discovering tiny clams beneath our feet.
Telline are delicious with pasta and require very little embellishment, which is true of so much of the food I came to love in Sperlonga. When seafood has just come from the Mediterranean and tomatoes actually taste like tomatoes, there’s very little reason to complicate things.
Raffaele and Lidia: The People Who Taught Me Sperlonga
Two people taught me more about Sperlonga than anyone else: Raffaele and Lidia, the owners of the apartment we rented year after year. Over time, they became dear friends, almost like family, and that relationship continued for the rest of their lives.
I was endlessly curious, and Raffaele was a fountain of information. He knew the landscape, the mountains, the produce, the fruit trees and the sea. He had a particular affection for his grove of lemon trees, and I still have photographs of him as an old man standing among them. When I look at those photographs today, I’m immediately transported back to Sperlonga.
Raffaele taught me to look beyond the obvious beauty of the place. And the obvious beauty is considerable. There’s the dazzling white historic town perched on a rocky promontory above the Mediterranean, the long golden beach and that endless expanse of blue water. But he taught me that Sperlonga was also about the land behind the beach, what grew there, what came out of the sea and the intimate relationship local people had with both.
And then there was Lidia, who taught me what to do with all those wonderful ingredients. Lidia was a marvelous cook, and one of the dishes I remember most vividly was her zuppa di pesce, a magnificent fish soup or stew. I loved it so much that decades ago I decided I needed to record her making it. Today I’d pull out my phone, tap a button and have a beautiful video within seconds. Back then, I arrived with a huge VHS camera.
Somewhere along the way, sadly, that recording disappeared. I wish I could find it. I’d give almost anything to see Lidia standing in that kitchen again, preparing her fish soup and talking me through it. Although the tape disappeared, the recipe didn’t: I learned it. And some of the recipes I learned from Lidia, together with dishes that grew out of all those years of cooking and eating in Sperlonga, have stayed with me ever since. Some have even made their way into the cookbook I’m now hoping will find its agent and publisher.
I love thinking about that journey. A recipe taught to me decades ago by a woman cooking in a seaside apartment in Sperlonga traveled through all these years of my life and eventually found its way onto the pages of my own cookbook. To me, that’s how recipes survive. They’re passed from one kitchen to another and from one generation to the next, carrying the people and places they came from along with them.
A Family Story That Continues Today
My connection with Raffaele and Lidia’s family didn’t end when they passed away. Their granddaughter Martina is now grown up and has a little boy of her own. Today, Martina and her husband Francesco have a wonderful restaurant, Lupi di Mare, right in the main square of Sperlonga Bassa - the very piazza where I used to walk in from the beach all those years ago to buy fruit and vegetables and decide what I was going to make for lunch.
The family is still very much part of the food. Martina’s mother, Giovanna, makes the desserts they serve at the restaurant, while Francesco is an avid fisherman. When the restaurant is closed, he goes fishing, and much of the seafood they serve really can be the catch of the day. We use that expression so casually that it has almost lost its meaning, but here it may mean that the man involved in running the restaurant was out on the water catching your fish only hours before it arrived on your plate.
Sitting in that piazza today is particularly moving for me because I can see two Sperlongas at once. I see the town as it is now, but I can also see the young woman I was decades ago, coming in barefoot from the beach, inspecting the tomatoes, stopping to see what fish had arrived and wondering what I might cook for lunch.
Discovering Sperlonga
If you’ve never been here, Sperlonga lies a little over 100 kilometers south of Rome on the Lazio coast between Rome and Naples. From the beach, the historic center appears almost impossibly picturesque, a cluster of whitewashed buildings rising dramatically above the Mediterranean on a rocky promontory.
Climb into the old town and you enter a maze of narrow lanes, staircases, arches and tiny passages. Every so often, an opening between buildings suddenly reveals an astonishing patch of blue sea. Sperlonga can feel like a town you’d expect to encounter much farther south in Italy, yet it’s remarkably close to Rome.
One of the simplest and loveliest things to do here is walk along the beach. And if you keep walking in the direction of the archaeological site, the story changes. The personal Sperlonga of my memories begins to merge with another much older story. This is where Sperlonga and the Odyssey truly meet.
Emperor Tiberius, Odysseus and a Grotto by the Sea
At the edge of Sperlonga are the remains of an extraordinary maritime villa associated with the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The complex incorporated a huge natural sea grotto where the emperor and his guests could dine beside the Mediterranean.
But imagine what surrounded them. Inside and around this extraordinary space stood monumental marble sculptures portraying some of the most dramatic episodes from the adventures of Odysseus. These weren’t small decorative statues tucked discreetly into corners. They were enormous, theatrical sculptural compositions depicting danger, violence, heroism and some of the most famous stories of the ancient Mediterranean world.
In 1957, during construction work on the Via Flacca, the coastal road connecting Terracina and Gaeta, an extraordinary collection of marble fragments came to light. Eventually, more than 15,000 fragments were recovered. Those fragments belonged to monumental sculptural groups depicting episodes associated with Odysseus and the Trojan War. One of the most dramatic represents the terrifying encounter with Scylla, the sea monster who attacks Odysseus’s ship and seizes his companions. Another depicts the blinding of Polyphemus, the Cyclops.
Suddenly, the connection between Sperlonga and the Odyssey becomes much more than a modern coincidence. Nearly two thousand years ago, an emperor was dining in a grotto beside this very stretch of Mediterranean coastline, surrounded by gigantic marble scenes portraying the adventures of Odysseus. Today, those stories have once again captured international attention through Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
And there’s an even larger geographical connection. This stretch of Lazio’s coastline is known as the Riviera di Ulisse, the Riviera of Ulysses. The name itself reminds you how deeply the stories and legends of Odysseus have become woven into the identity of this coast.
The Story Sperlonga Locals Told Me
There’s another part of the archaeological story I’ve always loved, although I want to tell it exactly as it was told to me by local people rather than pretend that every detail belongs to documented history.
The story I heard was that when these extraordinary sculptures were discovered, there was considerable interest in moving them to a major archaeological museum. The version told to me was that Naples wanted them badly. And the people of Sperlonga essentially said: absolutely not.
These sculptures had been here for nearly two thousand years. They had been discovered here. They belonged here. According to the story passed on to me, the people of Sperlonga fought long and hard to keep their treasures at home. And ultimately, that’s exactly what happened. A museum was built beside the archaeological site specifically to house the sculptures, and it opened in 1963.
Perhaps some details of the story became embellished through years of local retelling. That’s often what happens with wonderful local stories, and in some ways that’s part of their charm. But what has always stayed with me is what the story says about the fierce pride people in this small town have in their history and their determination to keep that history connected to the place where it belongs.
Today you can visit the archaeological site, see the grotto and then walk into the museum and stand before the reconstructed sculptures. You don’t have to imagine these enormous scenes from The Odyssey in an abstract museum hundreds of kilometers away. You’re looking at them beside the landscape where they were found, with the Mediterranean just outside. That sense of place changes everything.
What Keeps Me Coming Back to Sperlonga
I’ve watched Sperlonga change enormously over the decades. It’s no longer the almost empty June beach town where I once felt as though I’d stumbled upon a secret corner of Italy. More people know it now. More international visitors come. Restaurants, beach clubs and tourism have changed, and of course the way all of us travel has changed along with them.
But the Sperlonga I fell in love with is still there if you know where to look for it. It’s there in the sea and the fertile land behind it. It’s in the fish, the tomatoes and the tiny telline hidden beneath the sand. It’s in the memory of Raffaele standing among his lemon trees and Lidia cooking zuppa di pesce in her kitchen. It’s there when I sit in the piazza at Lupi di Mare and see another generation of the same family continuing its relationship with the food and sea around them. And it’s there in that extraordinary grotto at the edge of town, where the ancient adventures of Odysseus have been waiting for us for nearly two millennia.
Perhaps that’s what fascinates me most about Sperlonga and the Odyssey. A place I first came to know through the simplest things - a towel on the beach, a morning coffee, tomatoes from the market, fish for lunch and friendships that grew year after year - turns out to be connected to one of the greatest stories ever told. And there’s much more to the story!
Part Two: The Odyssey along the Southern Lazio Coast: Sperlonga, Gaeta, Formia and Monte Circeo
If the first part of this story made you want to explore the Odyssey connections for yourself, you can follow them along a surprisingly compact stretch of the Lazio coast. Begin in Sperlonga, continue south to Gaeta and Formia, and, if you have time, head north to Monte Circeo. Some of these connections are archaeological, while others stem from ancient, longstanding local traditions, but together they explain why this beautiful coastline is known as the Riviera di Ulisse.
Explore the Riviera di Ulisse With Me!
If you'd like to explore Sperlonga and the Riviera di Ulisse with me, I'd be delighted to show you some of the places I've come to know and love over the years. I can also organize a personalized itinerary for you, whether you'd like a day trip or want to spend several days exploring the coast. Just email me at wendy@flavorofitaly.com and tell me what you have in mind.
Where to Stay
If you're planning to spend a few days exploring the area and wondering where to stay, I've put together recommendations for each of the main stops. Click on the links for my suggestions for:
Sperlonga
Gaeta
Formia
Monte Circeo
Sperlonga: Start Here
The essential stop is the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Sperlonga, followed by the remains of the Villa of Tiberius and the Grotta di Tiberio on the beach. In the museum, don't miss the monumental Polyphemus group, showing Ulysses and his companions preparing to blind the Cyclops, and the dramatic Scylla group, with the sea monster attacking Ulysses' ship. Also look for the sculptures depicting the theft of the Palladium and Ulysses with the body of Achilles. Then walk down to the grotto itself, where these enormous sculptures once formed part of Tiberius' spectacular seaside dining complex, surrounded by pools, water and the Mediterranean.
Gaeta: The Land of the Laestrygonians
Drive south from Sperlonga toward Gaeta and take time to appreciate the Gulf of Gaeta from above, preferably from Monte Orlando. This landscape has traditionally been associated with Telepylos, the land of the cannibalistic Laestrygonians, who destroyed all of Ulysses' fleet except his own ship. The protected gulf, mountains and narrow approaches from the sea help explain why this area became associated with Homer's description, although the identification remains tradition rather than archaeological fact.
The Fonte Artacia
According to Homer, Ulysses' scouts encountered the daughter of the Laestrygonian king Antiphates while she was drawing water from a spring called Artacia. Local tradition identifies a spring in the Gaeta area with Homer's Artacia. It can't be proven, but it's another fascinating piece of the Homeric geography that has become attached to this coastline.
Montagna Spaccata and Grotta del Turco
While you're in Gaeta, don't miss Montagna Spaccata and, if accessible, the Grotta del Turco. Neither is actually connected with the Odyssey, but both are spectacular Gaeta landmarks worth adding to your visit. Montagna Spaccata belongs to a Christian tradition, while the Grotta del Turco is associated with legends of Saracen or Turkish raiders.
Formia: Continue the Laestrygonian Story
Continue south to Formia, another area traditionally associated with the land of the Laestrygonians. While you're there, you can also step out of mythology and into Roman history: the Via Appia passed through Formia, Cicero had a villa nearby, and his monumental tomb stands beside the ancient Appian Way. It's a wonderful example of how Homeric legend and documented Roman history overlap along this coast.
Monte Circeo: The Island of Circe
If you have another day, travel north from Sperlonga to Monte Circeo, traditionally associated with Circe and her island of Aeaea. The great promontory isn't an island today, but when the surrounding Pontine plain was covered by marshes, its dramatic isolation may have made it appear much more island-like. The association with Circe dates back to antiquity, and even the name Circeo preserves the connection.
Follow the Riviera di Ulisse
Put it all together and you have a wonderful Odyssey route: Sperlonga for Polyphemus, Scylla and Tiberius' grotto; Gaeta for the landscape of the Laestrygonians, the Fonte Artacia tradition and Monte Orlando; Formia for more of the Laestrygonian landscape and its Roman history; and Monte Circeo for Circe. You don't have to believe that Ulysses literally stopped at each of these places to appreciate them. What makes the journey so compelling is seeing how Homer's stories have become intertwined with the real landscape of the Lazio coast for centuries.
If Sperlonga is a place you’d like to experience for yourself, I’ve got you covered. You can contact me directly about planning a visit, and you’ll also find plenty more about Sperlonga, its food and what to do there right here with me and Flavor of Italy.
More Sperlonga!
Where to stay in Sperlonga
The Best of Sperlonga
Sperlonga, a Seafood Haven
Saturday Market in Sperlonga
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