Ladispoli is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Rome Metropolitan City of Rome Capital () is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Lazio region of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Rome and 120 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the hinterland of the c ...

, in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. It lies about west of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

History

Modern Ladispoli includes the site of the ancient Alsium at nearby Palo Laziale, the port of the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

city of

Cerveteri Cerveteri () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Italian region of Lazio. Known by the ancient Romans as Caere, and previously by the Etruscans as Caisra or Cisra, and as Agylla (or ) by the Greeks, ...

and later a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

colony cited by

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

. Alsium was destroyed in the 6th century AD, during the Gothic War, by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

led by

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War, recovering b ...

. Later a castle, named Palo, was built in the area: it was a fief of the

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: * Aaro ...

and, from 1693, of the Odescalchi family. Modern Ladispoli was founded in 1888 by Ladislao Odescalchi, from whom it takes its name. In the late 1970s and until the early 1990s, parts of Ladispoli were popular with thousands of Soviet emigrants, mostly Jewish, seeking political and/or religious asylum in Western countries (mostly

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

). This proved to be a boon for the city's economy, as they rented apartments while awaiting their entry visas to those countries, usually for a period of two months to a year (depending on the country). The impact was most profound during off-season, when many apartments would otherwise sit idle and city life would enter a hiatus. The experience of Jews from the former USSR staying in Ladispoli in the 1980s was described in English by Maxim D. Shrayer in his literary memoir "Waiting for America" (2007).

Main sights

*The

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

of Monteroni and Vaccina *The so-called Roman Villa of Pompey *Roman Villa Della Posta Vecchia *Roman Villa Della Grottaccia between via Nervi and via Rapallo. Its '' cryptoporticus'' was used as a refuge for displaced persons in the Second World War. Now it extends over an area of 40 x 70 m but it would have been much larger and was occupied from the 1st to 4th centuries. Today there is the floor in small bricks, typical of rooms used as warehouses or ''opificium fabricium''. The cryptoporticus had a ''doliarium'' for storing food and a millstone. *Roman Villa Marina Di Palo *The medieval Torre Flavia *The Castle of Palo (1132 AD, rebuilt in the 16th century) *The Castellaccio of Monteroni, a fortified country residence *The Giardino delle Orchidee Spontanee del Mediterraneo, a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

Demography

According to ISTAT figures dated 31 December 2010, there were 7711 foreign nationals living in Ladispoli. The nationalities most represented according to their percentage of the total population were: * from Romania – 4620 (11.26%) * from Poland – 826 (2.01%)

People

* Andrea Zitolo, Italian-French scientist and Knight to the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

Laura Antonelli Laura Antonelli (née Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991. Early years Antonelli was born Laura Antonaz in Pula, Pola, Kingdom of Italy (in Croatian, Pula), ...

, Italian actor * Anna Valle, Italian actress *

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

, Italian film director * Ibrahima Gueye, actor in '' The Life Ahead''

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Ladispoli is twinned with: * Benicarló, Spain *

Heusenstamm Heusenstamm () is a town of over 19,000 people in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Heusenstamm is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district. The town li ...

, Germany * Saint-Savin, France *

Łeba Łeba (, ; ) is a seaside town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania ( Pomerelia), near Łebsko Lake and the mouth of the river Łeba on the Slovincian Coast of the Baltic Sea. History ...

, Poland * Castroville, US * Teteven, Bulgaria *

Tinos Tinos ( ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It forms part of the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2021 census population of 8,934 inhabitants. Tinos is famous amo ...

, Greece *

Malle Malle () is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of Oostmalle and Westmalle. In 2021, Malle had a total population of 15,620. The total area is 51.99 km2. ...

, Belgium

References

External links

Official website

Airport Transfers from and to Rome Do as the Russians Did

Coastal towns in Lazio Populated places established in 1888 Roman villas in Italy {{Lazio-geo-stub