On August 6, 1933, the New York Times ran a tiny item on page 59 headlined, “Mussolini Lays City Cornerstone.” The story, in total, read: “Premier Mussolini today placed the cornerstone for the new city of Sabaudia, which will arise in the reclaimed Pontine Marshes. The city will be inaugurated April 21 next year with a capacity of 50,000 inhabitants.”
History remembers Mussolini as a pretty bad guy, but he built a nice little beach town. About an hour and a half south of Rome, Sabaudia has miles of Mediterranean coast, a bustling open-air clothing market, and pizza and gelato shops aplenty. The beaches are full of glamorous, leathery sun worshippers, and the locals are friendly in that reflexive way all Italians seem to be. The light, particularly at magic hour, is incredible: a riot of oranges and purples straight out of a Turner painting. And while it’s a little weird that the bald head of Il Duce himself peeks out from behind the Virgin Mary in the mosaic above the entrance to the town church, there are extraordinary views everywhere you look…