The Morphology

 

It is the largest of the Pontine Islands, located 59 km southwest of Gaeta , 33 km south of Cape Circeo, in the province of Latina.

Approximately seven kilometres long and on average two kilometres wide, with a "bottleneck" of just two hundred metres, its highest point is Mount Guardia (279 metres).

Of volcanic origin, it represents the remnant of a large central cone, with two craters: Cala di Ponza and Cala dell'Inferno, it is the largest of the Pontine Islands mentioned in Ulysses' long journey in the Odyssey as a legendary place where the sorceress Circe lived.

The Pontine Islands are lush with vegetation and are part of the Circeo National Park, a natural habitat for various types of birds.
Splendid and evocative with its infinite caves and ravines that open onto small coves and bays lapped by a transparent and crystalline sea loved by divers for their dives into sea beds rich in extremely rare marine flora and fauna.

The beautiful Frontone beach, Lucia Rosa beach, and the stunning natural cave of Chiaia di Luna make Ponza a magical place, an island characterized by an incredible array of colors and rocks with ferrous and sulfurous veins.

 

The Story

In ancient times, the entire group of islands, now part of the Lazio region, was first populated in the Neolithic era, then colonized by the Volscians, exploited for commercial purposes in the Phoenician era, and then discovered and chosen as a holiday destination by the ancient Romans, whose remains have survived the ravages of time. In the Middle Ages, the archipelago was part of the economic interests of various religious groups and at the center of flourishing trade flows that attracted the attention of Saracen pirates. Today, the town of Ponza, built like an amphitheater around the port, has a population of 2,336, known as Pontini. The municipality, which also includes the island of Zannone , has a surface area of 9.8 km2 and a population of 3,450, distributed in the capital, the villages of Le Forna, Calacaparra, Campo Inglese, and La Piana.
The clear, pristine waters of the Pontine Islands attract thousands of tourists every year and at the same time allow fishermen, both professional and amateur, to pursue an activity that is rarely fruitless.