Torvaianica

Torvaianica or Torvajanica is a frazione of the comune of Pomezia, in the Metropolitan [City of Rome], central Italy. Counting some 12,700 inhabitants, it extends for some on central Lazio's littoral.

Overview

According to Vergil's Aeneid, the Trojan hero Aeneas landed here: this event is confirmed by the excavation of the ancient Roman town of Lavinium in the neighbourhood of Torvaianica.
The name derives from a coastal watch tower, Torre del Vajanico, built in 1580 to defend against Barbary pirates attacks. The tower was damaged during World [War II] and demolished during the 1960s building speculations. The town was founded in the 1940s, after the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes; population at the time was mostly composed of fishermen.
The economy is mostly based on tourism. Torvaianica is home to the Zoomarine amusement park.
A Roman villa has been excavated nearby.