Aprilia Hotels - Lazio

Just a few kilometers from the sea, in the heart of the Pontine marshland, drained as part of Benito Mussolini's reclamation project, lies Aprilia. Italy's fascist dictator baptised the town in 1937 with the name Aprilia, inspired by the Latin expression Venus Aprilia (Venus fertilises). Unfortunately for its new residents, the association with Goddess of Fertility was not sufficient to protect the town, and in 1944 Aprilia was completely destroyed by a series of Second World War bombing raids.

To see: the Church of San Michele Arcangelo and Santa Maria Goretti, the town's two patron saints. A fine example of fascist architecture, it boasts a noteworthy Porta della Redenzione and an oval bronze dedicated to San Michele. A bronze statue of the archangel is situated right in the center of town. The sculpture, commissioned by the Opera Nazionale Combattenti, was also damaged during the bombing raids and has only recently been restored.

Not far from Aprilia there are a number of sites of historic interest, including the medieval tower of Campo del Fico and, in Buon Riposo, the remains of the ancient Volscian town of Longula. In Carano, there is the Garibaldi Family mausoleum, in which descendents of the "Hero of the Two Worlds" are buried.