What to see in Terracina, an itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the historic center, the Duomo, the archaeological museum, the Capitolium, the Church of the Santissimo Salvatore, the Pisco Montano and the Temple of Jupiter.
Tourist information
Among the most famous seaside resorts on the Lazio coast, located on the southern edge of the Pontine plain, Terracina is particularly popular in the summer, thanks to the beauty of its beaches, especially indicated for those who prefer to spend a peaceful holiday.
It was the first Spartan city and later Etruscan with the name of Tarcina, subsequently occupied by the Volsci, it bravely opposed the Roman conquest but, defeated, had to submit in the end.
The inhabited center developed especially in the imperial era, becoming one of the favorite holiday resorts of the Roman patricians, as it had a very important port for that era.
In the period following the devastations perpetrated by the barbarians and the Saracens, Terracina passed under papal dominion, before being occupied by the Frangipane and again devastated by the corsairs.
She had to struggle for a long time against malaria, which was then defeated with the reclamation of the Pontine plain.
What see
Terracina preserves many testimonies of the classical period, as well as a medieval village that deserves to be visited in its entirety.
The Town Hall square forms the center of the Roman and medieval city, characterized by the original flooring made with limestone slabs from the Emilian Forum and dating back to the first century BC.
On this square overlook the fourteenth-century Palazzo Venditti, the Town Hall and the thirteenth-century Torre Frumentaria, thirty meters high, which houses the archaeological museum, where finds of Roman origin are collected.
The Cathedral of Terracina, inaugurated in 1074, was later remodeled several times.
Through a staircase, which was part of the previous Roman temple, it is possible to climb to the pronaos, surmounted by an architrave.
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The Cathedral, which is flanked by a bell tower made of terracotta in the thirteenth century, has an interior with three naves reworked in the eighteenth century, including a very interesting mosaic floor, as well as works of art from different eras.
The Capitolium is a three-colored two-cell temple, dedicated to the Capitoline triad and dating back to the first century before Christ.
The Church of the Santissimo Salvatore, built in the nineteenth century, has a facade preceded by a portico and surmounted by a dome.
The Pisco Montano is a limestone cliff located at the foot of Monte Sant'Angelo which, about a hundred meters high, was cut by the emperor Trajan in order to allow the passage of the Via Appia along the coastal strip.
Three kilometers from Terracina is the Temple of Jupiter Anxur, located on top of Monte Sant'Angelo and dating back to the first century BC, of which only a few portions remain, including the podium, the twelve arches on which the building rested and a cryptoporticus.
Outside, the base of the building of worship, from which the priests gave their responses, and a small temple are visible.
