Terracina

On Saturday, the final day of the trip, we checked out of the campground and then stayed nearby and visited the town of Terracina. We packed a lunch and headed out to walk to the remains of the Tempio di Giove Anxur some 2 km away and 230 meters above the town. The students were told that the bus couldn’t make it up to the top because of the hairpin turns on the road and therefore we had to walk. The reality was that buses could certainly do it (we saw one coming down as we began the trip) but our colleagues in charge of the trip wanted the student to have the experience of the climb. I’m not sure why we couldn’t have just told them that. Walking also allowed us to leave the road and climb the paths to the top. As we ascended, the views both up to the temple and down to the town were indeed breathtaking, but most everybody, including Amy and I, could have used a bit more shade and temperatures some 15° cooler.

At the top we came to what remains of a large temple. The building materials for the actual temple have been scavenged over the centuries and what is left is a large platform indicating a substantial temple once stood on the site. Archeological evidence indicates that there has been some sort of religious importance to the place for over 2600 years. The temple was almost certainly originally dedicated to some local deity, but over time it morphed into a temple to the god Jupiter. On the path to the temple we passed by an archway that was part of the Appian Way, the ancient Roman road to the south which was begun in 312 BC. There was a small bar at the top which did a brisk business in cold bottled water and gelato and which was home to a family of cats. The friendliest was one of Jet’s Italian cousins who was quite content to be petted and played with. The smallest was a tiny fur ball that almost came home in several student backpacks. The day ended with a three hour drive back to Viterbo where an empty refrigerator signaled a meal out with friends at Il Monestero and a gelato to end the day.