What is Sabaudia known for?

Founded 15 April 1934 and built in 253 days, the cleanest example of Italian rationalist urban planning still in use as a working town. Fifteen kilometers of unbroken Tyrrhenian dunes between Sabaudia and San Felice Circeo, protected within the national park. Headquarters of the Parco Nazionale del Circeo, one of Italy's oldest national parks, founded the same year as the town.

Sabaudia is a comune in the province of Latina, Lazio region of Italy, about 20 kilometers from Latina.

Lazio · Latina

Sabaudia

A rationalist city built in 253 days on drained Pontine marshland, founded 15 April 1934 between Lago di Paola and the Tyrrhenian dunes.

20 km / 12 mi

Nearest hub (Latina)

19,434

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Sabaudia stands on what was malarial swamp until the 1930s. Work began on 5 August 1933, the town was inaugurated on 15 April 1934, and the whole construction took 253 days. It was the fifth of the new Pontine towns built on land drained under Mussolini and was named for the Savoy dynasty then on the throne. Four architects, Gino Cancellotti, Eugenio Montuori, Luigi Piccinato and Alfredo Scalpelli, won the competition with a plan that placed the civic center on an axis between the dunes and Lago di Paola, the coastal lagoon also called Lago di Sabaudia. The Torre Civica, the post office and the Chiesa della SS. Annunziata stand around Piazza del Comune as one of the cleanest examples of Italian rationalism still in use. The Parco Nazionale del Circeo, which surrounds the town, protects the dune system, the lagoon, and the coastal forest behind Monte Circeo. Fifteen kilometers of open beach run south to San Felice, with a boardwalk along the dunes.

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Gallery

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Known for

Torre Civica
Civic tower at the center of Piazza del Comune, the rationalist landmark visible from across the lagoon and the dunes.
Piazza del Comune
Central square of the 1934 plan, lined by the Palazzo del Comune, the post office and the Chiesa della SS. Annunziata.
Lago di Paola
Coastal lagoon of about 3.9 square kilometers, separated from the sea by the Sabaudia dunes and protected within the national park.
Dune di Sabaudia
Fifteen-kilometer dune strip between the lagoon and the Tyrrhenian, with a boardwalk and free beach access.
Parco Nazionale del Circeo
National park established in 1934, covering dunes, lagoon, the coastal forest of the Selva di Circe and the Monte Circeo promontory.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season on the dunes. June and September are the best swimming months, with warm sea and emptier beaches than the peak. July and August fill with Roman weekenders and the town doubles in population; the boardwalk above the dunes stays the cleanest stretch. October and April are good for walking the lagoon edge and the Circeo forest, when migrating birds use Lago di Paola as a stopover. November through March is quiet and damp. Most bathing concessions close, but the national park trails stay open year-round and the rationalist piazza is at its sharpest in clear winter light.