Located in the picturesque territory of Nettuno, Astura Tower contains centuries of history, culture and nobility. This fascinating place is located in Lazio along the Via Severiana, a natural landing place at the mouth of the Astura river. Here there are small coves along the coast. White sand contrasts with the blue of the sea and the green of the surrounding pine forest.
The history of Astura Tower of Nettuno
It built on the remains of an even older Roman settlement. Around 1140 Astura was purchased by Tolomeo of the Counts of Tusculum, and then sold to the Frangipane in 1193. So he decided to build a tower to defend himself from the Saracens. The Astura Tower site is immersed in the woods that occupy the Agro Pontino, immediately behind the coastal dune.
The tower as a place from which to draw inspiration
Astura Tower has inspired writers and poets over the centuries. Indeed Ferdinand Gregorovius in 1854 tells of how: “the forest near Astura is beautiful. The flora here is of tropical magnificence, the ivy clings to the majestic oaks”.
Giuseppe Brovelli Soffredini, in 1887, appreciated “the immense, imposing and grandiose garden, whose soil was carpeted with a sparkling green in the sunny patches and a bluish green under the shade of the age-old turkey oaks“.
Finally Gabriele D’Annunzio, who was there in March 1897, tells of a “wonderful pine forest, the trunks are so thick that they barely allow a few eyes of sunlight to penetrate and the tawny trees, with their branches full of needles, shine with this divine iridescence, of this admirable work of enchantment-arachnea”.
Instead, more recently, the fortress of Astura Tower has become famous as a location for several films and television dramas, including “Pinocchio“, “The Arcidiavolo“, “Brancaleone alle Crociate” with Vittorio Gassman and many others.
