When you're named in honour of a god you must endeavor to be worthy of your title. It should be expected that you are magnificent and splendid, breathtaking and awe-inspiring. For not every town gets to name itself after Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.
Nettuno lies on the western coast of Italy facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. A beautiful stretch of golden sand lines the coast with only a harbour interrupting this seemingly infinite boundary. The clear shallow waters will beckon you in for a swim and once you've immersed yourself and experienced the warm currents flowing beneath the gentle waves you'll struggle to find a good enough reason to leave.
To help you get an idea of just how pretty Nettuno beach is, here is some drone footage I captured during my stay.
https://3speak.co/watch?v=article61/vujfsfod
Beautiful, don't you think? But you must resist the enchantment of the sea because Nettuno is so much more than an alluring beach...
Behind the beachfront is a coastal road. On one side of the road, there are shops, bars, restaurants, and, of course, the world's best gelaterias offering more flavours than Willy Wonka's wallpaper. On the other side of the road, there are market stalls selling all kinds of unique and interesting souvenirs. In keeping with Italian lifestyle(or it could possibly be law), every 100-meters-or-so you'll come across a coffee bar where you can get yourself a traditional Italian espresso strong enough to wake a volcano. Boosted by this legal-high you can now power your way up the hill to discover one of Nettuno's finest features...
Nettuno's Old-Quarter, the Borgo Medievale
Forte Sangallo is a wonderfully preserved medieval castle that was built way back in 1503. Situated a few hundred meters north of Nettuno's Borgo area it keeps watch over this beautiful ancient town. As you stroll up Nettuno's high street a semi-circular wall made from old stone appears out of nowhere and as your eyes follow the structure you realise you're looking at one of the turrets which make up the corner piece to the beginning of Nettuno's originally fortified town.
Follow this old wall up the road and you come to an archway which may as well be a time portal. Once you pass through the arch you're transported back to ancient times.
Tarmac is replaced with cobblestones and the spacious upright buildings that stand outside the old wall no longer exist. Narrow streets lined by tall romantic buildings lean towards one another like kissing giants.
Spotted between this labyrinth are small courtyards where houses have been turned into little restaurants, each serving unique homemade recipes. Continue your journey through the old streets and you'll enter the town's main piazza.
Here you will find Nettuno's best gellatoria(IMO) and more restuarants serving traditional Italian cuisine fit for the gods. To miss out on the superb food and/or desserts should be considered a form of sacrilage. Just take a look at what's being served and tell me you could resist...
Seafood caught from Nettuno harbour then served on your plate the very same day!
And, of course, there are the classics! Have you ever tried Suppli? If not, my only advice is don't get carried away, because these cheesy morsals will fill you up fast! And then you might not manage a full pizza...BACK AWAY FROM THE SUPPLI... It's for your own good.
Being in Nettuno's Borgo area is to be inside the beating heart of Italy. Nettuno is loud with animated conversation, a place where every human sense is spoiled. The smell of classic Italian food. The astetic surroundings. The soulful music spilling out from the bars and restuarants. All these things come together to create an atmosphere like no other and this ambiance is ingrained into every part of the town. So take a walk around and maybe it's a good idea to finish this tour where it all began, looking out to sea.
Neptune has truly been honoured by this town and I imagine that when he disguises himself amongst the mere mortals he too enjoys what the people of Nettuno have built for him...
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you've enjoyed the journey. Join me next time when I take you all on a tour of Velletri, another jewel of Italy!
Please take a look around the @pinmapple and #haveyoubeenhere community to take a look at some great travel blogs.
Until next time, take care!
All images and videos in this blog without a source link are my own.
Enjoyed the video of the seafront, but Forte Sangallo stole my heart and then those amazing seafood dishes lined up to eat your heart out till contentment sets in and a glass of wine to follow.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 92/150) Liquid rewards.
I forgot to mention the wine! I guess that tells you that I'm all about the food 😂 Nettuno has so much more besides what I mentioned but my blog would have gone on forever so had to pick and choose. Glad you enjoyed the tour and thanks for the tipu shout too 👍
When going back through a journey remembering a wonderful time we often forget certain aspects with so many coming to mind. Well written and documented @article61
Thank you @joanstewart thats very nice compliment to hear.
Your comment makes me wonder what else I’ve forgot...
Amazing how much we store in our memory banks, later details reveal themselves as time goes by. Have a wonderful day.
You too @joanstewart, it was lovely to meet you.
Hi @article61,
Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content.
For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Lovely pics of that old town.
Thanks. I wish I'd have taken more myself as I'd rather not use other people's images in my travel blogs.
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1119.
Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!
Become part of our travel community: