A castle on the sea built over an Etruscan port
Along the Tyrrhenian coast north of Rome, Santa Marinella is a seaside town popular with Romans, with small beaches, coves among the rocks and the Odescalchi castle on the promontory. A few kilometres north, in its municipality, rises the Castello di Santa Severa, one of the most picturesque castles in Lazio, standing directly on the beach.
The castle was built in the Middle Ages over the remains of Pyrgi, the port of Etruscan Cerveteri, where in 1964 the famous Pyrgi Tablets were found, gold sheets with a bilingual Etruscan and Phoenician text. Today the castle complex, with its towers, courtyards and a medieval village, houses the Museum of the Sea and Ancient Navigation and the Antiquarium of Pyrgi, and hosts concerts and events in summer.
Tip: the beach at the foot of the castle is perfect for a swim after the visit; the archaeological area of Pyrgi and the remains of the Etruscan temples can be seen next to the castle.
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