Places Near Us- Gaeta

Gaeta is a beautiful port town just a 20 minute drive from our home. It dates back to Roman times and was a tourist destination even for the Ceasars and ancient citizens of Rome. It has been linked to Rome by the biblically famous Appia Way. The port has also been in use since Roman times and was even referenced in the Aeneid, an epic poem written after Homers Odyssey for the Roman People several centuries before Christ.

The Gaeta castle was first built in the 6th century AD and was taken over and added onto during the Medieval Times. The old city is full of restaurants and gelaterias and is fun to wander while slurping a delicious gelato from Il Penguino or Il Molo, both found in the old town near the harbor. You can walk through the narrow streets that wind up to the castle but you cannot enter the castle as it is still a military fortification.

The Port of Gaeta is a NATO base and is currently home to a US flagship, so you will find a large population of Americans that live here.

Our favorite sites in Gaeta are Montagna Spiccata (Split Mountain) and Grotto Del Turco. Both sites are natural and the entrance is free. There is a large parking lot near Split Mountain with beautiful views of the beach. As you enter Split Mountain you will actually walk down the middle of the Split on steps leading down and out. At the end you are rewarded with beautiful views of the very blue Mediterranean Sea as it is framed by the split in the mountain. Next to Split Mounatin is Grotto Del Turco, there is also steps that go down to a sea level cave that is equal in beauty. Nearby there is a trailhead for a walk with views.

Montagna Spaccata (Split Mountain in Gaeta

Of course, a favorite pastime in Gaeta in the summer time is the beach, there are paid beaches and free beaches. The paid beaches do not allow you to sit on the beach unless you pay for a sun bed or lounge chair. Prices are usually €10-€20 for day use and can be a very sophisticated way to spend a day at the beach. We always choose the “free beaches” which are small sections along the stretch of beach that are set aside for people to bring their own blankets, towels, chairs and umbrellas. You can recognize which beaches are free by the multi-colored umbrellas set up in clusters. Otherwise the paid beaches are all rows of chairs and umbrellas the same color. In the winter no one goes to the beach so it is yours for the taking! We have heard that you can rental paddle boats here and paddle to the Split Mountain which I think would be a beautiful place to swim. Usually paddleboats are about €15 an hour.