Anzio

Lore & Background

The symbol of Anzio is the goddess Fortuna, referencing her veneration in the ancient Antium, whose territory Anzio occupies. In the Roman era, Antium almost entirely corresponded to modern Anzio and nearby Nettuno. In the Middle Ages, Antium was deserted in favor of Nettuno. At the end of the 16th century, Pope Clement VIII instructed Monsignor Bartolomeo Cesi to safeguard Anzio's building heritage. In the last decade of the 17th century, Pope Innocent XII rebuilt the port, leading to economic recovery. In 1857, Pope Pius IX founded the modern municipality of Anzio, originally named Porto d'Anzio until 1885. On 16 March 1925, a submarine telegraph cable station was inaugurated in Anzio, connecting directly to New York, and later to Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. From 1940 to 1945, Anzio was united with Nettuno as the comune of Nettunia. During World War II, the Allied landing and the Battle of Anzio occurred here. In February 1944, American soldiers of the U.S. Fifth Army were surrounded by Germans in the caves of Pozzoli for a week. On 18 February 1944, the British light cruiser was struck by two torpedoes off Anzio and sunk with a loss of 417 crew. Lieutenant Eric Fletcher Waters of the British Army died in battle at Anzio. On 14 September 1948, a waterspout came ashore, causing damage.

In Their Own Story

The landing craft's bow drops and the ramp slams into wet sand. You're the third man off, boots churning through the grey foam, and the air smells of diesel and salt. A mortar round kicks up a spray of seawater ten metres to your left. You sprint for the seawall, press your back against the cold plaster of a whitewashed wall, and listen to the staccato of MG 42 fire from somewhere up in the town. The street ahead is a canyon of shuttered shops, a toppled lamppost, and the black smoke of a burning truck. You cross, head down, and the next burst of fire rips the plaster off the wall beside your ear. Anzio, January 1944. The town is small, the enemy is dug in, and the sea is already pulling the landing craft back out.

Reader's Guide

Anzio is connected to Rome by the Via Nettunense (SS207), the Via Ardeatina (SS601), and the Roma-Nettuno railway, which stops at Padiglione, Lido di Lavinio, Villa Claudia, Marechiaro, and Anzio Colonia. Ferries and hydrofoils connect Anzio to Ponza. Notable sights include remains of Roman villas (including the Domus Neroniana, a residence of Nero), the Anzio War Cemetery, the Beach Head War Cemetery, the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in nearby Nettuno, a WWF park with sulphur springs and Tor Caldara, and the military sanatorium of the Italian Army built 1930–1933.

Did You Know?

• The symbol of Anzio is the goddess Fortuna.
• Anzio was originally named Porto d'Anzio until 1885.
• On 16 March 1925, a submarine telegraph cable station in Anzio connected directly to New York.
• From 1940 to 1945, Anzio was united with Nettuno as the comune of Nettunia.
• Lieutenant Eric Fletcher Waters, father of Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, died in battle at Anzio.