PalenQ

I recently hopped the train from Rome and did a day trip to Nettuno, about an hour or so south and southwest it seemed from Rome.

Seaside Nettuno and neighbording Anzio of course bore the brunt of the Allies' Invasion of the Italian mainland in WWII - and like in Normandy it caused many many casualties in creating a beachhead in Italy from which the Allies tortuously clawed their way north to Rome.

I had not expected too much citywise from either place and was not disappointed at least in Nettuno in this regard - so so seaside town - pleasant but no reason to buy a postcard to send home.

Except however for the WWII memorial and cemetery in Nettuno - an oasis of greenery dotted by thousands of white stone markets of fallen Allied soldiers - all American it seemed by the states each market mentions.

Like the cemetery on D-Day at Colville-sur-Mer this cemetery necessarily takes over your emotions - thinking of the youthful folk who had the misfortune to be caught up in that moment and had to die before their lives really even began.

I thought of my first trip to Europe as a college kid - a fun and educating experience and justaposed that against these American lads first exposure to Europe.

Of course their bravery made my later trip possible, etc.

But anyway Nettuno has a special site.

I did not get to Anzio after reading in Nettuno that that was the only memorial-cemetery in the area.

What did i miss in Anzio - pleasant seaside town - are there any WWII memorials or markers there - if so i may have to day trip to the area again.

StCirq

There's a British cemetery in Anzio as well as a small D-Day museum.

I loved Anzio. It's a great, bustling port town, and you can take a boat ride to the Island of Ponza.

One of the best meals of my life was a simple spaghetti alle vonghole in a portside restaurant in Anzio.

You should visit Sperlonga and Gaeta as well, and go inland to Finza.

PalenQ

thanks Saint!

more fuel for different day trips from Rome - anzio and the island sound interesting - i'll research the others.

kslanker

My son and I went to Anzio last month to see the landing site and WWII Museum there. My father-in-law landed at Salerno in 1943 and we both went there as a rememberance of him. Salerno, Anzio and Monte Cassino were the highlight/lowlights of the Allied Campaign in Italy. My father-in-law was on the beach at Salerno for 3 weeks. Anzio was possibly worse.

An excellent account of the battles is in a book titled, "The Day of Battle."

Anzio is a beautiful small town now on the harbor and beach. There are many great places to eat. We went to the harbor and had Ravioli with Sea Bass(in the Ravioli) and Gnocchi with Shrimp. The Museum there is not open all the time so check before you go. It is a nice one hour train ride from Rome (albeit on a Regional train). Several Stops on the way.

gailw

There's a monument to the 36th Division (T-Patchers from Texas mostly) who landed at Paestum on September 9, 1943. The monument has no signage at all leading to the site just down the road from the fabulous Greek temples of Paestum. My father was part of that landing on the day after his 23rd birthday. We took a bus to Paestum from Salerno, which was slow and tedious. Returning, we took the train back to Salerno. There are no signs of the location of the train station from the temple site, so if you go, do research ahead of time and bring a map to indicate the location of the monument and the train station. Arriving by train would be a lot better, but the trains run very infrequently.