Lazio · Latina
San Felice Circeo
A medieval borgo on the flank of a promontory that Homer made the home of Circe in the Odyssey.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why San Felice Circeo is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Blu and Spighe Verdi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 1 h 53 min from Rome
- Population
- 10,042
- J13°
- F14°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S26°
- O22°
- N18°
- D14°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
San Felice Circeo sits at about 100 meters on the inland flank of the promontory, the limestone mass that closes the south end of the old Pontine Marshes. The Romans called the ancient city here Circeii; the treaty between Carthage and Rome in 509 BC mentions it by name. The cape is still called Promontorio del Circeo, after the sorceress who turned Odysseus's men into pigs.
The centro storico is small, built inland and above the water rather than on it, with the coast reached by a road that drops from the borgo to the beaches below. The baronial palace adjoins the tower on the town's small piazza, the medieval heart of the fortified center, while the cave on the promontory's south face sits apart from both, closer to the sea than to the old town. Below the borgo, the coast runs into the beaches of the Parco Nazionale del Circeo, with views across the Gulf of Gaeta to the Pontine Islands. What holds the town together is the promontory itself: a single limestone landmark that has given the place its name, its ancient treaty mention, its myth, and its oldest human trace, while the borgo that grew on its flank stayed small enough to be walked in an afternoon.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 49 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 27 min away.
By car from the center of Naples 2 h 32 min or Salerno 2 h 56 min.
Coming by train into Latina? San Felice Circeo is about 50 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre dei Templari
Thirteenth-century tower on Piazza Lanzuisi, raised by the Templars between 1240 and 1259, probably over a Roman-era structure.
Palazzo Baronale
Baronial palace adjoining the Templar tower, the medieval heart of the small fortified centro storico.
Monte Circeo
Limestone promontory rising to 541 meters, with Path 750 to the summit and views across the Pontine Islands and the Gulf of Gaeta.
Grotta Guattari
Cave on the south face of the promontory, found in 1939 with a Neanderthal skull, where digs from 2019 uncovered the remains of nine more individuals.
Quarto Caldo beaches
Bandiera Blu coastline on the southern side of the promontory, accessible by a coastal road from the centro storico.
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.
MadreTerraTrattoria
MadreTerra has one Gambero Rosso prawn to its name.
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?
San Felice Circeo meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 10,042 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Latina, a city of 127,796, is 43 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 10,042, up 7.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Latina, 43 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Terracina, 13 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,000 to €2,750 per m² to buy, €11.10 to €13.40 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 77% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Rome Ciampino airport (CIA), 1 h 41 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Rome, 1 h 53 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
16% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from India, Morocco and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 19 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 237 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 52% 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
The nearest emergency room is in Terracina, 13 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Latina, 31 km away. The nearest IB school is Ambrit International School, 87 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Children's Castle International, 66 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.5% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income. 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. 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
MONTE CIRCEO
The 541-meter promontory Homer made the home of Circe in the Odyssey, a landmark visible from the entire Pontine coast.
TORRE DEI TEMPLARI
Knights Templar tower built between 1240 and 1259 on Piazza Lanzuisi, the surviving anchor of the medieval fortified borgo.
GROTTA GUATTARI
Neanderthal cave on the south face of the promontory, one of the first Neanderthal finds in Italy, excavated from 1939 and again since 2019.
Common questions
- What is San Felice Circeo known for?
- San Felice Circeo is a medieval borgo on the flank of a promontory that Homer made the home of Circe in the Odyssey.
- Where is San Felice Circeo?
- San Felice Circeo is a comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, at 100 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to San Felice Circeo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Ciampino (CIA), about 1 h 41 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Naples to San Felice Circeo?
- About 2 h 32 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit San Felice Circeo?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like San Felice Circeo?
- Sabaudia, Cerveteri and Orbetello.
- How many people live in San Felice Circeo?
- 10,042 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is San Felice Circeo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, San Felice Circeo is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Latina, is 43 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Terracina, 13 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 77% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 100 m
- Population: 10,042
- Surface area: 32.63 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.
Similar
Towns like San Felice Circeo
What all six share with San Felice Circeo: over 10,000 people · near sea level
Sabaudia
Province: Latina
both on the Tyrrhenian coast
- Written about. No. 67.
Cerveteri
Province: Roma
both on the Tyrrhenian coast
- Written about. No. 52.
Orbetello
Province: Grosseto
both on the Tyrrhenian coast
Sorrento
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast
Nettuno
Province: Roma
both on the Tyrrhenian coast
Menfi
Province: Agrigento
both on the coast
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