WTI Magazine #10 2013 Dec, 20
Author : Maurizio Gabriele Translation by: Alessandra Bitetti
Sperlonga is a small town in the Lazio coast. It's a popular tourist resort and for several years it has had the status of Blue Flag Fee. The beautiful sea is the perfect setting for this cluster of buildings that are all strictly white. The charm of Sperlonga is given by the labyrinth of alleys in which is easy to get lost, allowing the discovery of corners and wonderful views that would remain unknown.
I know it well enough, but I still get lost today, and I often use this "special ability" to find my dear places. If I wanted to find them purposely, I would continue to wonder for hours without spotting them; but if I get lost, here I end up again where I wanted. This is what happens with a small garden/cloister, in which there is a wrought iron well, surrounded by a beautiful bougainvilleas, very charming and romantic. But I don't like this place just for that reason. In fact, on the facade of the houses that surround it, you can admire the frescoes that narrate the landing of the Saracens and other stories in perfect style chanson de Roland, giving to this tiny square a suggestive oriental style charm.
Another fascinating place that I love in Sperlonga is located just outside the center, towards Gaeta. These are the remains of the summer residence of the emperor Tiberius. He had a very large surface, and it is still possible to identify the division of rooms and grasp the use that was made of them. You can find the kitchens or storage set aside for conservation of food and other commodities. However, the most conserved place is the cave that the emperor used for banquets and entertain his guests. Here you could see many marble statues describing the Ulysses feats and other episodes of Roman mythology, now preserved in the museum.
The story says that Tiberius used to use the external cave to breed moray eels, and one of the favorite entertainment of the imperial court consisted in giving the slaves as nourishment for moray eels. But probably this is just one of the many legends that help to expand the aura of perfidy that hovers around characters of the past, giving the macabre charm that conquest people.
