Torre Astura
A narrow brick bridge, barely wide enough for two people, connects the mainland to a pentagonal medieval tower rising out of the sea. This is Torre Astura — reached after a twenty-minute walk through Aleppo pine forest from the free car park, the path opening suddenly onto dunes and eight kilometres of unequipped beach where you carry in everything you need.
The tower stands on the submerged foundations of a Roman villa so large its fishpond alone covered fifteen thousand square metres. You cannot go inside, but the exterior is the point — stone worn by two thousand years of salt air, surrounded by water, with Monte Circeo visible on clear days to the south.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who return tend to arrive early, before the summer shuttle buses bring day-trippers from Nettuno. The beach is entirely unserviced — no bars, no loungers — so a cool bag matters as much as sunscreen. Bring shoes you don't mind soaking; the bridge gets splashed at high tide.
The story behind Torre Astura
The site was already ancient when Cicero retired to his villa here in 45 BC, after the death of his daughter Tullia. The medieval structure was built in the late thirteenth century by the Frangipane family, on those same Roman foundations — though ownership shifted quickly, passing to the Caetani, the Orsini, and then the Colonna, who enclosed the tower with walls and gave it the form it holds today.
One moment crystallises the place's long entanglement with power: in 1268, the young Conradin of Swabia fled here after his defeat at the Battle of Tagliacozzo, only to be betrayed and handed over to Charles of Anjou. The Borghese family acquired it in 1831 and eventually transferred it to the state; the municipality of Nettuno now owns it.
Good to know
Free parking off Via Valmontorio; the tower is a 20-minute walk from there. Open daily July–August (8 a.m.–7 p.m.), weekends only in September. Buses 203 and 209 serve the area; a weekend shuttle runs from Nettuno centre for €1. The interior is closed to visitors.
Summer (July–August) is hot and dry, ideal for the beach but busy on weekends. Spring and early autumn offer cooler walking conditions and far fewer visitors; September weekends are the last chance to find the tower officially open.
Where is Torre Astura?
Location
- In Nettuno
- 41.4108, 12.7478
- Open in Google Maps
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