Anzio

From Open Encyclopedia

For the World War II battle, see Operation Shingle. For the US naval vessel Anzio, an aircraft carrier, see USS Anzio (CVE-57).

Anzio (2003 pop. 36,400) is a city and resort on the coast of the Latium region of Italy, about 33 miles south of Rome. Well known for its beautiful seaside harbor setting, it is a fishing port popular with tourists and a departure point for a ferry and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene. The city bears great historical significance as the site of a crucial Allied landing during World War II.

1 Roman era
2 World War II
3 References
4 External links

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Roman era

Called Antium in ancient times, it was the capital of the Volsci people until it was conquered by the Romans in the year 468 BC. The legends as to its foundation, and the accounts of its early relations with Rome, are untrustworthy; but Livy's account of wars between Antium and Rome, early in the 4th century BC, may perhaps be accepted. Antium is named with Ardea, Laurentum and Circeii, as under Roman protection, in the treaty with Carthage in 348 BC. The patrician Coriolanus was exiled to Antium (where Shakespeare sets several scenes in his tragedy), and at Antium found himself at the head of the Volscian forces (341). After the last unsuccessful revolt, it was razed and colonized in 338 BC; the beaks (rostra) of the six captured Antiane ships decorated the orators' tribune in the Roman forum that became known because of their presence as the tribuna rostrata. During the Social War, Antium took the side of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and so was sacked by the troops of Gaius Marius, in 87 BC.

Afterwards, at the end of the Roman republic, Antium became a preferred maritime resort of the wealthy patrician Romans, just within reach of a day's travel, just far enough to be insulated from the riots and tumults of Rome. When Cicero returned from exile, it was at Antium that he reassembled the battered remains of his libraries, where the scrolls would be secure. Leading Romans built magnificent seaside villas. The Julian and Claudian emperors frequently visited it: Mecenus had a villa at Antium; both Emperor Caligula and Nero were born in Antium; the latter founded a colony of veterans and built a new harbour, the projecting moles of which are still extant.

Remains of Roman villas are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the north-west of the town. Many works of art have been found: the Fanciulla d'Anzio, the Borghese Gladiator (Louvre Museum) and the Apollo Belvedere in the Vatican were all discovered in the ruins of villas at Antium.

Of the villas, the most famous was the Villa of Nero at Antium which cannot be certainly identified, but is generally placed at the so-called Arco Muto, where remains of a theatre (discovered in 1712 and covered up again) also exist. It extended along the coast of the Capo d'Anzio some 800 meters of seafront. Nero razed the former villa on the site, where Augustus had received a delegation from Rome to acclaim him Pater patriae ("Father of his Country") to rebuild on its foundations a villa on a more imperial scale, which was used by each Emperor in turn, up to the Severans. Of the famous temple of Fortune (Horace, Od. i. 35) no remains are known.

In the middle ages Antium was deserted in favour of Nettuno: at the end of the 17th century Innocent XII. and Clement XI. restored the harbour, not on the old site but to the east of it, with the opening to the east, a mistake which leads to its being frequently silted up; it has a depth of about 15 feet. The sea is encroaching slightly at Anzio, but some miles farther north-west the old Roman coast-line now lies slightly inland (see Tiber). The Volscian city stood on higher ground and somewhat away from the shore, though it extended down to it. It was defended by a deep ditch, which can still be traced, and by walls, a portion of which, on the eastern side, constructed of rectangular blocks of tufa, was brought to light in 1897. The modern place is a summer resort and has several villas, among them the Villa Borghese.

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World War II

Anzio is also notable as the site of an Allied forces landing (Operation Shingle) and ensuing four-month battle during World War II. The Commonwealth Anzio War Cemetery and Beach Head War Cemetery are located here. The battle of Anzio is depicted in the film of Pink Floyd's The Wall and the newly-remastered version of The Final Cut, in the song When the Tigers Broke Free; the father of Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters died there in the battle.

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References

A. Nibby, Dintorni di Roma, i. 181; Notizie degli scavi, passim.
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.

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