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00 Sabaudia
Stemma di Sabaudia

Lazio · Latina

Sabaudia

A rationalist city built in 253 days on drained Pontine marshland, founded 15 April 1934 between Lago di Paola and the Tyrrhenian dunes.

Best time
May–Sep
By car
1 h 54 min from Rome
Population
19,434

Known for

  • RATIONALIST 1934

    Founded 15 April 1934 and built in 253 days, the cleanest example of Italian rationalist urban planning still in use as a working town.

  • DUNE COAST

    Fifteen kilometers of unbroken Tyrrhenian dunes between Sabaudia and San Felice Circeo, protected within the national park.

  • CIRCEO PARK

    Headquarters of the Parco Nazionale del Circeo, one of Italy's oldest national parks, founded the same year as the town.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

  • J14°
  • F15°
  • M16°
  • A18°
  • M23°
  • J28°
  • J32°
  • A31°
  • S27°
  • O23°
  • N19°
  • D15°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Sabaudia stands on what was malarial swamp until the 1930s. Work began on 5 August 1933, the town was inaugurated on 15 April 1934, and the whole construction took 253 days. It was the fifth of the new Pontine towns built on land drained under Mussolini and was named for the Savoy dynasty then on the throne.

Four architects, Gino Cancellotti, Eugenio Montuori, Luigi Piccinato and Alfredo Scalpelli, won the competition with a plan that placed the civic center on an axis between the dunes and Lago di Paola, the coastal lagoon also called Lago di Sabaudia. The Torre Civica, the post office and the Chiesa della SS. Annunziata stand around Piazza del Comune as one of the cleanest examples of Italian rationalism still in use.

The Parco Nazionale del Circeo, which surrounds the town, protects the dune system, the lagoon, and the coastal forest behind Monte Circeo. Fifteen kilometers of open beach run south to San Felice, with a boardwalk along the dunes.

The Sunday letter

Sabaudia is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Sabaudia comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Sabaudia in our articles

How to get there

From Rome (FCO), about 2h 12m by car.

Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 2h 33m away.

By car from the centre of Naples 2h 37m or Salerno 3 hours.

Coming by train into Latina? Sabaudia is about 51 minutes away by road.

Sabaudia, photo 1
Sabaudia, photo 2

What to see

  • Torre Civica

    Civic tower at the center of Piazza del Comune, the rationalist landmark visible from across the lagoon and the dunes.

  • Piazza del Comune

    Central square of the 1934 plan, lined by the Palazzo del Comune, the post office and the Chiesa della SS. Annunziata.

  • Lago di Paola

    Coastal lagoon of about 3.9 square kilometers, separated from the sea by the Sabaudia dunes and protected within the national park.

  • Dune di Sabaudia

    Fifteen-kilometer dune strip between the lagoon and the Tyrrhenian, with a boardwalk and free beach access.

  • Parco Nazionale del Circeo

    National park established in 1934, covering dunes, lagoon, the coastal forest of the Selva di Circe and the Monte Circeo promontory.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Sabaudia fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

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.

  • BucciaTrattoria

    Buccia has three Gambero Rosso prawns and a Slow Food snail.

  • Seguire Le BottiAgriturismo

    Seguire Le Botti carries a Gambero Rosso listing.

Living here

  • Population 19,434
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Rome, 2 h 12 min drive
  • Regional capital Roma, 1 h 54 min drive

Common questions

What is Sabaudia known for?
Sabaudia is a rationalist city built in 253 days on drained Pontine marshland, founded 15 April 1934 between Lago di Paola and the Tyrrhenian dunes.
Where is Sabaudia?
Sabaudia is a comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, at 17 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Sabaudia?
Rome (FCO), about 2h 12m by car.
How long is the drive from Naples to Sabaudia?
About 2h 37m by car.
When is the best time to visit Sabaudia?
Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
Which other towns are like Sabaudia?
Cerveteri, San Felice Circeo and Orbetello.
How many people live in Sabaudia?
19,434 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 17 m
  • Population: 19,434
  • Surface area: 145.37 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.

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