Province of Latina

Surface area
8.500 ha
Year of establishment
1934
Municipalities involved in the Lazio Region
Latina, Ponza, Sabaudia, San Felice Circeo
Park authority
Parco Nazionale del Circeo
Park headquarters
Via Carlo Alberto, 107
04016 Sabaudia
Tel.
0773511385

E mail:
pn.circeo@parks.it

HOW TO GET THERE:
By car
From Rome and/or Latina: SS 148 Pontina, Sabaudia exit
From Naples:
SS Domiziana, then Via Appia or Via Flacca as far as Via Pontina, Sabaudia exit
By train
Rome-Formia-Naples line to Priverno or Latina railway station, then by local bus service
By bus
CO.TRA.L. bus service from
Rome-Eur Fermi to all the villages of the Park;
local bus service from Latina, terminus at railway station

INFORMATION AND USEFUL NUMBERS:
Porta del Parco at San Felice Circeo
Tel. 0773549038
APT - Latina Tourist Promotion Agency
Via Duca del Mare,19
Tel. 0773695404
www.aptlatinaturismo.it
Local Tourist Offices:
Sabaudia - Tel. 0773515046
San Felice Circeo - Tel. 0773547770
Latina - Tel. 0773480672
Ponza - Tel 077180031
Visitors' Information Centre, c/o Park authority
Via Carlo Alberto, 174 - 04016 Sabaudia
Other facilities:
Fauna Area at Cerasella
Botanical Garden at Villa Fogliano

TERRITORY:
The Park is situated on the southern coast of Lazio, between Anzio and Terracina and consists of various environments of quite different types:
the calcareous Promontory of Circeo which is the highest part of the Park (Picco di Circe, 541 m); the dunes, of recent formation and made up of grey and yellowish siliceous sands; the coastal brackish lakes and wetlands, which are the last remnants of the Pontine Marshes reclaimed in the Thirties; the mesophyll forest, which basically consists of broad-leaved trees; the Isle of Zannone, situated 30 Km south of Circeo, made up of calcareous and volcanic rocks, has been part of the park since 1979.
The Park includes:
the National Forest of Circeo (established by law in 1977); the following wetlands, of international importance (RAMSAR), all established in 1978:
Fogliano Lake, Caprolace Lake, Monaci Lake, Sabaudia Lake; the Natural National Reserves of:
Lestra della Coscia (established by law in 1971);
Pantani dell'Inferno (established by law in 1979);
Piscina della Gattuccia (establishd by law in 1971); Piscina della Bagnature (established in 1975); Rovine di Circe (established by law in 1971).

FLORA:
Different kinds of plants can be found in the Park: on the Circeo Promontory there is a thermophilous ilex forest, and growing near the sea are the Phoenician juniper and dwarf palm tree; a halofilic pioneer flora grows on the dunes (Sea rocket, Sea radish, Othantus maritimus, Sea lily). The area behind the dunes is dominated by Mediterranean macchia (Juniperus oxycedrus, Phoenician juniperus); in the mesophyll forest there are mainly bay-oaks, Turkey-oaks, Hungarian oaks and many other species of herbage. In areas that are periodically flooded we find the Fraxinus oxycarpa, rushes, trembling poplar trees, etc.; around the lakes there are rushes, carex, pointed bulrushes and many other species of herbage, on which the buffalo from the local farms feed; the vegetation of Isle of Zannone is mainly Mediterranean macchia.

FAUNA:
The fauna is very rich and varies in the different parts of the Park. The birdlife is remarkable, with many different species of migratory and nesting birds, which include: stock doves, turtledoves, little owls, barn owls, tawny owls, screech owls, hawks, buzzards, red kites, blackbirds, redbreasts, nightingales, great tits, blue rock thrushes, fish hawks and peregrines (both in the Isle of Zannone), marsh-harriers, moorhens, white storks, herons, egrets.
In the forest we find wild boar, hares, roe deer, fallow deer, foxes, polecats, hedgehogs, weasels, moles, various species of amphibians and reptiles.
On the promontory there are wild boar, foxes, weasels, hedgehogs, hares.
On the dunes: foxes, wild rabbits, weasels, badgers, porcupines. There are many species of insects.
The wetlands give shelter to foxes, porcupines, hedgehogs, etc.

ART AND HISTORY:
The park is scattered with prehistoric sea caves: Grotta delle Capre, of Fossellone, Barbara, of Circe the Sorceress. There are many Roman ruin (the Villa of Domitian on the edge between the forest and Lake Paola, and the cave with the spring called "Fonte di Lucullo") as well as 16th-century watch towers.
Places of interest
in Sabaudia: the Sanctuary of S. Maria della Sorresca on Lake Paola (6th century BC.); the Church of SS. Annunziata, built at the same time as the town of Sabaudia; Sea and Coastal Museum with whole sectors dedicated to marine biology, submarine archaeology and the evolution of the coastline (Piazza Verbania - Tel. 0773511340 - 0773515791);
in San Felice Circeo: Tower and Castle of the Templars; 16th-century Towers of the Popes
Picco di Circe, from where you can see the remains of the Temple of Circe the Sorceress; the Sanctuary of S. Maria della Sorresca;
in Ponza: 17th-century architecture, like the Town Hall, the Church of SS. Trinita',
the Church of Assunta

FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS:
Latina
Second or third weekend of May: May Fair
22 May: Santa Rita da Cascia's Day
Second weekend of November: Autumn Fair
6 January: Feast of the Three Kings (Epiphany)
First Sunday of every month: "Memory Lane" market
Ponza
Last Sunday of February: S. Silverio's Day
19 March: S. Silverio's Day and "Sagra delle Zeppole" (the zeppola is a kind of small doughnut)
20 June: S. Silverio's Day
21 July: Madonna della Civita's Day and "Sagra del Cocomero" (Watermelon Fair)
15 August: Assumption Day e "Sagra del Pesce" (Fish Fair)
Sabaudia
Last week of July: International Folklore Festival
Last weekend of August: Summer's End Festival
Live music, dancing and fireworks to celebrate the end of the season
Week beginning 15 August: SS. Annunziata's Day
S. Felice Circeo
40 days after Easter: Good Friday Processions - Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Sorpresa
29 July: S. Feliceranno's Day
15-16 August: Assumption Day and S. Rocco's Day
End of September and beginning of October: "Sagra del Pesce Azzurro" (Blue-fish festival)

EXCURSIONS, GUIDED TOURS, OPEN-AIR ACTIVITIES:
The Melacotogna Coop. offers the possibility of bike rides in the forest or horse-riding in the area of Molella (short courses for beginners, with qualified instructors, are held in the nearby riding stables). Tel. 0773511206
Horseback outings
Centro Iippico Cerreto Alto
Str. Lunga 36 - 04100 Latina
Tel. 0773643927
Giungarelli Vittorio
SS 7 Appia 5 - 04100 Latina
Tel. 0773632248
Spas
San Felice Circeo (Punta Rossa )
Tel. 0773548075

FOOD:
Bassiano prosciutto, mature cheeses from Priverno, Bassiano and Roccasecca dei Volsci, buffalo mozzarella, "giuncata" (curdled milk), "impanata" (fresh whey and ricotta), Monte San Biagio sausages with chili pepper.