Lavinio

History

The name is derived from ancient Latin settlement of Lavinium, now from the sea, and part of the nearby municipality of Pomezia. The foundation of Lavinium is mentioned prominently in the great Roman epic, the Aeneid by the Mantuan poet Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil). Lavinio adjoins the regional park of Tor Caldara, which features a medieval watch tower that was built in the Middle Ages to defend the area from the frequent incursions of Saracens and later from the Arabic pirates. In 1565 the tower was restored by Marcantonio Colonna, of the powerful noble family and large fief holders in Lazio and the Papal States. Sulfur was also mined there in the 16th century. In 1999 the ruins of an ancient Roman villa were discovered adjacent to the tower. The park features evergreen oak trees and Mediterranean vegetation that before commercial development extended along the whole coastline of the region. Characteristic springs and water courses can be found in the area. During World War II, Allied soldiers fought and died on the beach and in the surrounding countryside of this town. On January 22, 1944 it was the approximate location of the British beachhead landing during the Battle of Anzio, part of the Allied advance to Rome. A greater number of American forces landed in Anzio and Nettuno, south. A total of 110,000 troops landed. As a perennial memory, a marble stele, elevated and in front of the sea, remembers this sacrifice.

Most-observed species

• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  92
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  82
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  68
• Eurasian Kestrel

  Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  61
• Japanese Cheesewood

  Pittosporum tobira (Murray) Aiton fil. · Magnoliopsida
  59
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  57
• Black Redstart

  Phoenicurus ochruros (S.G.Gmelin, 1774) · Aves
  54
• Italian Sparrow

  Passer italiae (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  53

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2025-05-08
  1 km NNE of Montecompatri, Italy
• M 4.1 — 2024-12-09
  3 km SSE of Formia, Italy
• M 3.1 — 2020-05-11
  7 km NNW of Rome, Italy
• M 4.6 — 2019-11-07
  2 km SW of Villavallelonga, Italy
• M 3.4 — 2019-06-23
  1 km WSW of Gallicano nel Lazio, Italy
• M 4.3 — 2019-01-01
  4 km SSW of Trasacco, Italy