There is truly something special about the tiny seaside village of Sperlonga. Visitors feel the charm as soon as they arrive at the main piazza at the top of the hill and walk towards the lookout to gaze at the glittering sea below. The quaint white houses clinging to the side of the cliffs and the narrow alleyways are simply delightful.
There is a sense of time preserved in the historic centre. There is the tranquillity that is Sperlonga. Days unfold at an amiable pace. People linger over coffee in the piazza before sauntering down to the beach; waiters slip their arms through yours as they guide you to a table with a magnificent view of the sparkling sea below.
One of the fascinating attractions along the Rivièra di Levante’s eastern side is a cave or grotto. The ruins were once the massive summer villa of Tiberius, and the cave was the natural setting for many of his dinner parties.
Sperlonga is consistently voted in the top ten of Italy’s seaside towns and for good reason.
Whenever I visit Sperlonga, as I ramble around the bright town, swim in the sea, or visit the ruins, I am reminded that it has ably maintained an unpretentious yet potent charm. Sperlonga is a delightful place to visit that insists on a different kind of prestige: life unfolding unassumingly against the eternal beauty of the landscape.