Sperlonga and The Archaeological Museum

Sperlonga and The Archaeological Museum

Sperlonga, perched on it's seaside bluff, has been a favorite place to vacation since Roman times. Emporer Tiberius built his magnificent villa here and the area become popular with other wealthy Romans. The village owes its name to the large natural grotto or spelunca that opens out on this coastline. On of these caves is in fact known as Tiberius' grotto. A national archaeological museum was built nearby along the via Flacca to house the findings from the cave and villa.

Before being a favorite holiday resort of the Romans, the area seems to have been inhabited by the Iaconian people, who probably founded the mythical town of Amyclae. not much is known of this mysterious settlement, although the classical authors mention it.

The history of medieval Sperlonga is that of a small fishing village often forced to face attacks from the sea, such as the Saracen raids. In order to create a defensive line, four towers were built. Despite the towers, the village was taken by the corsair Khair-ad-din, known as Barbarossa. The land leading to Tiberius' grotto is named Valle dei Corsari, in memory of the event. Your Land Adventure will continue with the visit of the The Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga situated near Tiberius' Grotto, 2 km south of the village of Sperlonga. It houses sculptures and other objects discovered in September 1957 during the building of the new Via Flacca.

The marble sculptures refer mostly to Homeric themes, especially to the myths regarding Ulysses. One group portrays the Rape of Pallas from Troy, another, the Blinding of the Cyclops Poliphemus by Ulysses, another still, the attack of Scylla on Ulysses' ship with Ulysses lifting up Achilles' dead body. Therefore, a very "Odyssey in marble" which represents one of the most sensational archaeological discoveries of this century. An inscription on the side of the marble ship bears the names of three famous sculptors: Agesandrus, Atenadorus and Polidorus, authors also of the famous Laocoon in the Vatican Museum. This signature seems to confirm their authorship of these marble groups as well.

Other sculptures in the museum are ornamental pieces from the villa, and other furnishings and hand-made articles show that the villa was lived in right up to the late Roman period. After your educational adventure, you will board your coach returning to Gaeta and SeaDream.

Notes: Comfortable shoes are recommended for this Land Adventure.

A minimum participation is required to operate all Yachting Land Adventures and some have limited capacity. All adventures and prices in the SeaDream Yachting Land Adventures program are subject to change. Not all of the land adventures shown will be offered on all voyages and departure times are subject to change. Final pricing and departures times will be published onboard.

Port: Gaeta

Duration: 3.5 hours

Current Price: 131 USD