Torvaianica
Encyclopedia
Torvaianica or Torvajanica is a frazione
of the commune of Pomezia
, in the province of Rome
, central Italy
. Counting some 12,700 inhabitants, it extends for some 8 kilometers on central Lazio's littoral.
, the Trojan hero Aeneas
landed here: this event is confirmed by the excavation of the ancient Roman town of Lavinium
in the neighborhood of Torvaianica. The name derives from a coastal watch tower, Torre del Vajanico, built in 1580 to defend against Barbary pirates attacks. The tower was damaged during World War II
and demolished during the 1960s building speculations. The town was founded in the 1940s, after the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes
by the Fascist government
; population at the time was mostly composed of fishermen.
The economy is mostly based on tourism. Torvaianica is home to the Zoomarine amusement park.
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of the commune of Pomezia
Pomezia
Pomezia is a municipality in the province of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. In 2009 it had a population of about 60,000.-History:The town was built entirely new near the location of ancient Lavinium on land resulting from the final reclamation of the Pontine Marshes under Benito Mussolini, being...
, in the province of Rome
Province of Rome
The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...
, central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Counting some 12,700 inhabitants, it extends for some 8 kilometers on central Lazio's littoral.
Overview
According to Vergil's AeneidAeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, the Trojan hero Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
landed here: this event is confirmed by the excavation of the ancient Roman town of Lavinium
Lavinium
Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, at a median distance between the Tiber river at Ostia and Anzio. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the Silva Laurentina, a dense laurel forest, and the northernmost...
in the neighborhood of Torvaianica. The name derives from a coastal watch tower, Torre del Vajanico, built in 1580 to defend against Barbary pirates attacks. The tower was damaged during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and demolished during the 1960s building speculations. The town was founded in the 1940s, after the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes
Pontine Marshes
thumb|250px|Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain.The Pontine Marshes, termed in Latin Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, Pomptina Palus and Pomptinae Paludes by Pliny the Elder, today the Agro Pontino in Italian, is an approximately quadrangular area of former marshland in the Lazio...
by the Fascist government
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
; population at the time was mostly composed of fishermen.
The economy is mostly based on tourism. Torvaianica is home to the Zoomarine amusement park.