La zona, oltretutto, abitata da piccoli nuclei di popoli disarmati, è stata fin dalla notte dei tempi presa d’assalto con facilità da barbari, pirati, corsari. Fasi di incursioni, saccheggi, distruzione, rapimenti, uccisioni in massa, si sono alternate a periodi di relativa pace, sotto la protezione dell’Impero, del Papato o dei ducati di Gaeta e Fondi, e comunque con una forte intromissione da parte dei reggenti esterni, nella vita di una piccola e umile comunità locale.
Le tracce di quali popoli troveremmo nel suo sangue?
Gli antenati di Leone lavorano tutto l’anno per mantenere le residenze sempre pronte ad accogliere un’improvvisata del padrone e dei suoi amici. Ed è con alta probabilità che possiamo ipotizzare che il seme dei “romani” si sia mischiato con quello delle lontane parenti di Leone.
Il sangue di Leone è anche decisamente mediorientale!
Gli uomini della Terra del Nord, la Normandia, sono chiamati dal Papa per espellere gli islamici. Il sangue normanno si aggiunge a quello saraceno e i nuovi arrivati prendono potere sul Ducato di Fondi.
E possiamo immaginare come in questo clima si siano fusi con la gente del posto.
Lo scenario si ripete 90 anni dopo. Nel villaggio non restano che una trentina di persone. La famiglia di Leone, com’è ovvio, sopravvive.
Nel 1640 una flotta francese diretta a Napoli si blocca e occupa Sperlonga per 7 anni, con largo tempo a disposizione per produrre prole.
Un bel cocktail, eh?
Ganimede Residence
(Top choice apartments).
Hotel Mayor
(Short walk from the sea, family-run, clean, excellent breakfast)
Hotel Grotta di Tiberio
(4 Stars, pool with jacuzzi, gourmet restaurant, excellent view and location)
Hotel Amyclae
(an elegant 3 star-hotel located on the beach)
We extremely enjoyed a toured Monti Cecubi in Itri viewing the winery and learning fascinating local history. Our guide Irene, Sarah and Pietro were wonderful. We had a... read more family of five and several others were in our group. We started the morning off with a lovely hike through the trails near the winery and learned of the local olive trees, birds and cork trees. The sights were stunning of the surrounding area of Itri, Formia, and Gaeta in the distance. We visited the vineyard area and learned how the grape vines grow and are planted along side other plants for nutrients. We visited the inside of the winery and learned how the grapes were pressed and turned into wine. My boys thought the giant wine barrels and bottling machine where really cool! The day was complete when we were able to sit at a gorgeous lava stone table overlooking the vineyard and enjoyed a delicious meal which included fresh local grilled meat, vegetables, potatoes and YES... THE AMAZING Cecubi Wine. There are several different varieties of the wine and our guide was very knowledgeable about how each one was made and which foods to pair it with. You are able to purchase bottles of wine there on sight and we made sure to take advantage of this opportunity. We had the lovely surprise of enjoying local chocolates handmade in Itri brought in to be paired with our dessert wine. I highly recommend this specific tour and this tour group. They have several other tours in the area and we are already planning to sign up and tour with them again. The combination of history, nature, delicious food, wine and the professionalism and kindness of your guide make for a FANTASTIC DAY! I can't wait to book another outing. If you are curious this tour can be customized for the enjoyment of larger groups, small groups, couples, and families with children of all ages. We were completely impressed and delighted. …
This small but high qualitative company gave us a great experience. First a visit to Tiberius villa close to Sperlonga - amazing sculptures and history, really recommend a visit. After... read more the villa, we were driven to the vineyard Monti Cecubi, where we learned about the history of the wine and the vineyard. The guide had great knowledge about both the history and the wines, and we were only three persons - so it became a very nice and personal tour. Thank you Irene:)
The picture is misleading, you are not going to visit a winery.
You will be walking around the quote little town with a great tour.
At the end we went... read more to restaurant and had som vino tasting.
Without our guide we would never be able to see odd part of town, she showed us little gems.
Fascinating overview on the history of Sperlonga, followed by a tour of the winery and a tasting of three delicious wines accompanied by an exquisite selection of local products. Irene... read more was the best guide - thank you!
We had a great day with Irene and her friend. First she gave us a tour around the village and told us some history and legends of Sperlonga. On the... read more drive to the wineyard her friend continued to tell us about the surroundings of Sperlonga, perfect! We then got a tour around the wineyard and later we were served delicious Italien appetizers and wine. Some days after I recieved nice photos they had taken during the tour. I only wish they had joined us during the meal :) I recommend this experience and I’d love to try the other tours they offer. …
I came across Irene's website when my mom and I were spending a week in Rome and wanted to take a day trip outside the city. You absolutely must check... read more out Sperlonga with Irene! It is such a beautiful and relaxed (at least on a...More
I stumbled on the Amyclae Experience in Sperlonga while searching for wineries near Rome. Since we were staying nearby, this tour seemed like a perfect fit. Irena was... read more easy to communicate with, responsive, and flexible. This particular tour was in English. We started with a...More
I had a great tour of beautiful Sperlonga with Irene and got to sample some delicious local wine and food! The town has a rich history and Irene is an... read more expert. Highly recommended to all visitors!
We are so happy for the professional and inspiring winetour first starting with a walk in historical Sperlonga and ending up in a winery nearby. We got a lovely mix... read more of stories from roman and medioval time unntil today. And you even understand a lot...More