Formia
Encyclopedia
Formia is a city and comune
in the province of Latina
, on the Mediterranean
coast of Lazio (Italy
). It is located halfway between Rome
and Naples
, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way
.
Ορμίαι hormiai, meaning "landing place". It was a renowned resort during the imperial era.
Cicero
was assassinated on the Appian Way outside the town in 43 BC, and his tomb remains a minor tourist destination. The city was also the seat of St. Erasmus's martyrdom, by being disemboweled around 303 AD, during the persecutions of Diocletian. St. Erasmus later also became known as Saint Elmo the patron saint of sailors.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
the city was sacked by barbarians and the population moved to two distinct burghs on the nearby hill, which were under the rule of Gaeta
. Charles II of Anjou built a fortress in the maritime burgh, Mola di Gaeta. The other burgh was known as Castellone, from the castle erected there in the mid-14th century by Onorato I Caetani
, count of Fondi
.
The two villages were united again in 1863 under the name of Formia. The reunited city was badly damaged in 1943-1944 in bombing operations and the Battle of Anzio
.
Other sights include:
and Giuseppe Gibilisco
trained here.
, from which visitors and residents may travel by bus to Gaeta
, Minturno, Spigno and other local towns.
Ferries and hydrofoils connect Formia to Ponza
, Ischia
and Ventotene
.
, Italy
Fleury-les-Aubrais
, France
, since 2004 Gracanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Haninge, Sweden
Santeramo in Colle
, Italy
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Latina
Province of Latina
The Province of Latina is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Latina.It has an area of 2,251 km², and a total population of 519,850...
, on the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast of Lazio (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...
). It is located halfway between Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way
Appian Way
The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy...
.
History
Formiae (modern day Formia) was founded by ancient Romans, the name deriving from the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
Ορμίαι hormiai, meaning "landing place". It was a renowned resort during the imperial era.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
was assassinated on the Appian Way outside the town in 43 BC, and his tomb remains a minor tourist destination. The city was also the seat of St. Erasmus's martyrdom, by being disemboweled around 303 AD, during the persecutions of Diocletian. St. Erasmus later also became known as Saint Elmo the patron saint of sailors.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
the city was sacked by barbarians and the population moved to two distinct burghs on the nearby hill, which were under the rule of Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
. Charles II of Anjou built a fortress in the maritime burgh, Mola di Gaeta. The other burgh was known as Castellone, from the castle erected there in the mid-14th century by Onorato I Caetani
Onorato I Caetani
Onorato I Caetani was an Italian nobleman, who was the count of Fondi from 1348 and the Great Conestable of the Kingdom of Naples also from 1348...
, count of Fondi
Fondi
Fondi is a city and comune in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. Before the construction of the highway between the latter cities in the late 1950s, Fondi had been an important settlement on the Roman Via Appia, which was the main connection from Rome to...
.
The two villages were united again in 1863 under the name of Formia. The reunited city was badly damaged in 1943-1944 in bombing operations and the Battle of Anzio
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
.
Main sights
The most famous monument of Formia is the mausoleum traditionally identified with the Tomb of Cicero: it is a 24 m-high tower on the old Appian Way, enclosed in a large (83x68 m) funerary precinct.Other sights include:
- Tower of Castellone
- Roman cistern, one of the world's largest. Similar to the structures in Constantinople and in the Domitian's villa of AlbanoAlbano LazialeAlbano Laziale is a comune in the province of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Latium, central Italy. It is also a suburb of Rome, which is 25 km distant. It is bounded by other communes of Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa, Ariccia and Ardea. Located in the Castelli Romani area of Lazio...
, it dates from the 1st century BC. - Remains of the Villa of Mamurra, partly destroyed in 1943, and of Roman aqueducts and cryptoportici.
- Church of San Giovanni Battista e Lorenzo, known from 841. It was almost entirely destroyed during World War II. It houses a panel by Antoniazzo RomanoAntoniazzo RomanoAntoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili was an Italian Early Renaissance painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the 15th century.-Biography:...
(c. 1490) - Church of San Luca, known from the 15th century. It has a recently discovered crypt with frescoes of Episodes of the New Testament and Madonna del Latte.
- Renaissance monastery and church of Sant'Erasmo. It was erected on the alleged site of the saint's martyrdom.
- Archaeological Museum.
- Regional Park of Gianola and Mount of Scauri.
Sport
Formia is the seat of the National Athletics School of the Italian National Olympic Committee, founded in 1955. Athletes such as Pietro MenneaPietro Mennea
Pietro Paolo Mennea is an Italian former sprinter and politician, who was the 1980 Moscow Olympic 200 meter Champion, and also held the 200 m world record for 17 years.-Biography:...
and Giuseppe Gibilisco
Giuseppe Gibilisco
Giuseppe Gibilisco is an Italian pole vaulter, who won the 2003 World Championships with a personal best of 5.90 m. He followed this with a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics.-Career:...
trained here.
Transportation
Formia itself is the most important transportation hub of southern Lazio. The Rome–Formia–Naples railway passes through Formia railway stationFormia railway station
Formia railway station serves the city and comune of Formia, in the region of Lazio, central Italy.Opened in 1892, the station presently forms part of the Rome–Formia–Naples railway, which was completed in 1927...
, from which visitors and residents may travel by bus to Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
, Minturno, Spigno and other local towns.
Ferries and hydrofoils connect Formia to Ponza
Ponza
Ponza is the largest of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located 33 km south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in the Lazio region....
, Ischia
Ischia
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 km from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has...
and Ventotene
Ventotene
Ventotene, in Roman times known as Pandataria or Pandateria from the Greek Pandoteira, is one of the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Gaeta right at the border between Lazio and Campania, Italy...
.
Twin towns
FerraraFerrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, 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...
Fleury-les-Aubrais
Fleury-les-Aubrais
Fleury-les-Aubrais is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.-External links:*...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 2004 Gracanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
Haninge, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Santeramo in Colle
Santeramo in Colle
- External links :*...
, 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...
People related to Formia
- Antonio SicurezzaAntonio SicurezzaAntonio Sicurezza was an Italian painter representative for the contemporary figurative art of the Lazio region, Italy.-Biography:He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, winning a scholarship as a worthy competitor among the four faculties...
, painter (Santa Maria Capua VetereSanta Maria Capua Vetere-External links:*...
, February 25, 1905 - Formia, August 29, 1979) - Vittorio FoaVittorio FoaVittorio Foa was an Italian politician, trade unionist, journalist and writer.-Biography:Foa was born in Turin in 1910 into a middle-class Jewish family....
, political (TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, September 18, 1910 - Formia, October 20, 2008) - Remigio Paone, director and theatrical producer
- Alessandra Canale, announcer and television presenter
- Gaby MudingayiGaby MudingayiGaby Mudingayi is a Congolese-Belgian footballer who plays for Bologna of Italian Serie A.-Biography:Mudingayi started his career at the Belgian club Gent. In January 2004, he joined Italian Serie B side Torino Calcio and helped them win promotion back to Serie A in 2005. However, the club went...
, Congolose naturalized Belgian who recently said to live in the town of Formia