Palidoro Between Dunes and History

Palidoro combines a distinctive coastal landscape with historic buildings. The Dune di Palidoro are the area’s main landscape feature, while the tower and borgo reflect its architectural and local history. These offer two different ways to approach choosing a destination: the coastal dunes on the one hand and historic architecture on the other. If you are more interested in the coastal area or in the history of the buildings, you can get a sense in advance of which aspect of the place is a better fit for your travel interests.

Coastal Landscape and Torre di Palidoro

Stretching for around three kilometers along the coast, the Dune di Palidoro form the best-preserved dune landscape along the entire Fiumicino coast. This conveys both their scale and their remarkable state of preservation.

The Torre di Palidoro rises immediately behind the beach at the Dune di Palidoro. It is a four-story tower from the 16th century, built on the ruins of a large Roman villa. The tower also dates from the period of the Saracen invasions and was used to spot approaching enemy ships. The tower thus brings together a specific historical function and the older ruins on which it was built. The Torre is privately owned and can only be viewed from the road.

Borgo, Church, and Remembrance

The Borgo di Palidoro also dates back to the 16th century and retains its original layout. Visible features include a cylindrical tower and fortifications at the corners of one of the buildings. These elements give a more tangible sense of the original layout than a date alone: the borgo can be understood through its architectural form and surviving fortification details.

At the center of the square in the Borgo di Palidoro stands the Chiesa dei Santi Apostoli Filippo e Giacomo. The church was already in existence in 1690 and was enlarged and completed during the pontificate of Pius VI (1775–1799). Above the marble altar is a painting created in 1788 by Antonio Cavallucci da Sermoneta. It depicts the Holy Spirit descending upon Saints Filippo and Giacomo. The painting was therefore created during the same pontificate in which the church was enlarged and completed; its subject also features the two saints named in the church’s dedication.

A marble stele next to the Torre di Palidoro was erected in 1960 in memory of Carabinieri Deputy Brigadier Salvo D’Acquisto. D’Acquisto took sole responsibility for the alleged attack and asked for the immediate release of those arrested; 22 prisoners were subsequently freed. The monument thus shifts attention from architectural forms to a person and the events associated with him. In this way, the stele adds a story of remembrance alongside the Torre to Palidoro’s historical themes.

Discover more destinations: Castel San Pietro Romano, Canale Monterano, Bellegra, Poli, Nerola, La Giustiniana, Rignano Flaminio, Cave

For the broader travel overview: Rome.