Lazio · Latina
Fondi
The plain town between the Ausoni and Aurunci mountains where the Caetani built a castle in the middle of farmland instead of on a hill.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Fondi is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 2 h 4 min from Naples
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 39,916
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A30°
- S26°
- O22°
- N18°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in July at 28° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Fondi sits in the middle of its own plain, the Piana di Fondi, a fertile basin between the Ausoni and Aurunci mountains halfway between Rome and Naples, with the Tyrrhenian only a few kilometers south. The Via Appia ran straight through it, and the town has been here since 338 BC, when its inhabitants gained limited Roman citizenship after the Latin War. The old walls that once ringed the settlement still show at the base of the castle in the center, and inside those same walls sits the Giudea, the former Jewish quarter, so the medieval town and the Roman one occupy the same footprint rather than sitting apart.
South of the built-up center the plain gives way to the Lago di Fondi, a brackish lake cut off from the sea by a sand bar and worked for fishing rather than farming. The fields that surround all of this now feed the Mercato Ortofrutticolo, moving millions of tons of produce a year out of a basin whose flatness once made it easy to defend and now makes it easy to farm.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 12 min away.
By car from the center of Naples 2 h 4 min or Salerno 2 h 29 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Latina? Fondi is about 1 h 11 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Baronale Caetani
Round towers over 30 meters high in the centro storico, raised on Roman walls that still form part of the base.
Palazzo Caetani-Colonna
Adjoining noble residence built into the castle complex, the seat of Giulia Gonzaga's court between 1526 and 1534.
Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo
Romanesque-Gothic cathedral with a 13th-century pulpit and the throne where the antipope Clement VII was elected.
Giudea
Former Jewish quarter inside the medieval walls, one of the oldest documented Jewish settlements in central Italy.
Lago di Fondi
Brackish coastal lake south of the town, separated from the Tyrrhenian by a sand bar, used for fishing and aquaculture.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Da FaustoRistorante
Da Fausto has a Gambero Rosso listing and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Riso AmaroRistorante
Riso Amaro carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Fondi meets 1 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 39,916 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Latina, a city of 127,796, is 1 h 10 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 39,916, up 3.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Latina, 1 h 10 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,300 to €1,500 per m² to buy, €5.40 to €6.50 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 79% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 2 h drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Rome, 2 h 12 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
13% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from India, Albania and Pakistan, against 9% across Italy. 49 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and France. There are 161 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 27% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Latina province ranks 83rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Latina, 48 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 98 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Teodoro Monticelli International School, 70 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.7% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lazio spends about €2,270 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €647 a year for water, on the Lazio average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 2% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
CASTLE ON THE PLAIN
Caetani fortress built in 1319 in the center of town, a rare medieval Italian castle on flat ground rather than a hilltop.
WESTERN SCHISM
The 1378 conclave that elected the antipope Clement VII met in the Fondi cathedral, splitting the papacy for forty years.
MOF
Mercato Ortofrutticolo di Fondi, the largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Europe by volume.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Colline Pontine DOP, Oliva di Gaeta DOP and Sedano Bianco di Sperlonga IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Fondi known for?
- Fondi is the plain town between the Ausoni and Aurunci mountains where the Caetani built a castle in the middle of farmland instead of on a hill.
- Where is Fondi?
- Fondi is a comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, at 9 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Fondi?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 2 h by car.
- Can you get to Fondi without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Naples to Fondi?
- About 2 h 4 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Fondi?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Fondi?
- Minturno, Bacoli and Pompei.
- How many people live in Fondi?
- 39,916 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Fondi a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Fondi is a small town that meets 1 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Latina, is 1 h 10 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 79% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 9 m
- Population: 39,916
- Surface area: 143.92 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Fondi appears in
- The best beach towns inside a nature park in LazioLazioclean beachinside a park6 towns · smallest 3,009 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park that have a serious restaurant in LazioLazioinside a parkserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 6,707 residents
- The best beach towns in the province of LatinaLatina provinceclean beach7 towns · smallest 3,009 residents
- The best towns that eat well in the province of LatinaLatina provinceeats well7 towns · smallest 687 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that sit on a walking route in LazioLazioon a walking routeserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 5,225 residents
- The 8 best towns inside a nature park that sit on a walking route in LazioLazioinside a parkon a walking route8 towns · smallest 387 residents
Similar
Towns like Fondi
What all six share with Fondi: on the Tyrrhenian coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level
Minturno
Province: Latina
both have a railway station in the comune
Bacoli
Province: Napoli
both have a railway station in the comune
Pompei
Province: Napoli
both have a railway station in the comune
Vico Equense
Province: Napoli
both have a railway station in the comune
Piano di Sorrento
Province: Napoli
both have a railway station in the comune
Gaeta
Province: Latina
33 min apart by road
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