What is San Felice Circeo known for?

The 541-meter promontory Homer made the home of Circe in the Odyssey, a landmark visible from the entire Pontine coast. Knights Templar tower of the 1240s on Piazza Lanzuisi, the surviving anchor of the medieval fortified borgo. Neanderthal cave on the south face of the promontory, with one of the oldest hominid finds in Italy, excavated from 1939.

Where is San Felice Circeo?

San Felice Circeo is a comune in the province of Latina, Lazio region of Italy, about 34 kilometers from Latina.

Lazio · Latina

San Felice Circeo

A medieval borgo on the flank of Monte Circeo, the 540-meter promontory Homer made the home of Circe in the Odyssey.

34 km / 21 mi

Nearest hub (Latina)

10,137

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

San Felice Circeo sits at about 100 meters on the inland flank of Monte Circeo, the 540-meter limestone promontory that closes the south end of the old Pontine Marshes. The Romans called the ancient city here Circeii; the treaty between Carthage and Rome in 509 BC mentions it by name. The promontory is the one Homer made the home of Circe, the sorceress who turned Odysseus's men into pigs, and the cape is still called Promontorio del Circeo. The Grotta Guattari on the south face is one of the oldest Neanderthal sites in Italy, with remains of nine individuals found in 1939. The centro storico is small. The Torre dei Templari, built between 1239 and 1259 with Guelph crenellations, rises beside the Palazzo Baronale on Piazza Lanzuisi. Below the borgo, the coast runs into the Bandiera Blu beaches of the Parco Nazionale del Circeo, with views across the Gulf of Gaeta to the Pontine Islands.

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Gallery

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Known for

Torre dei Templari
Thirteenth-century tower with Guelph crenellations on Piazza Lanzuisi, built between 1239 and 1259 on a Roman-era foundation.
Palazzo Baronale
Baronial palace adjoining the Templar tower, the medieval heart of the small fortified centro storico.
Monte Circeo
Limestone promontory rising to 541 meters, with Path 750 to the summit and views across the Pontine Islands and the Gulf of Gaeta.
Grotta Guattari
Neanderthal cave on the south face of Monte Circeo, where remains of nine individuals were excavated from 1939 onward.
Quarto Caldo beaches
Bandiera Blu coastline on the southern side of the promontory, accessible by a coastal road from the centro storico.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season for the beaches and the Monte Circeo trails. June and September are the calmest months on the water and the easiest for the climb to the summit, with cooler air and no afternoon haze. July and August push the rock into the high thirties and the trails go quiet between noon and four. October is still warm enough to swim on the south-facing Quarto Caldo coast. November through March is rough sea weather and most beach concessions close, though the centro storico, the Templar tower and the national park trails stay open all year.