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 | Gaeta Downtown car rental - Travel Guide |  |
GAETA lords over the broad sweep of bay from its high, castle-topped headland, an appealing place at first sight (especially from the southern side), untidily piled up onto the pinnacle of its defensive rock. The fortress here was impregnable: it resisted Gothic and Saracen invaders and the town flourished under the Normans, some of its architecture dating back to that time - and earlier. The tiny church of San Giovanni al Mare (check with tourist office for opening times) by the water, hails from the tenth century; and on the summit of Monte Orlando, now a park, there's the classical tomb of one Munatius Plancus , the founder of Lyons, decorated with a frieze showing scenes of battle (daily: summer 9am-1pm & 4-8pm; winter shorter hours). Close by, a terrace gives fine views over the Serapo bay below, next to which the small church of Santuario del Crocifisso is built on a boulder breaching the chasm of Montagna Spaccata, literally suspended a few hundred metres above the sea.
But for all this, it's Gaeta's modern-day role as a naval port that is most apparent: much of the old town is closed off to the public (parts of the port and the castle itself) and the quayside bars advertise "burgers and chips" to entice visiting American servicemen off the warships that are often docked in the harbour. The main square, Piazza del Municipio , flanks the portside and is a lively enough spot, with a small Wednesday market; and there's a tourist office at Piazza XIX Maggio (June-Sept Mon-Fri 8am-2pm & 5-8pm, Sun 9am-1pm; tel 0771.461.165). But you'd do best to visit Gaeta for the beaches north of the headland - though be warned that these, especially the closest at Spiaggia di Serapo, can get quite packed and their frontages have been bought up almost exclusively by restaurants.
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