Santa Severa Beaches and Santa Marinella: Rome Guide

The Santa Severa beaches and Santa Marinella are on the northern Lazio coast, along the Via Aurelia, and you can reach them from Rome Termini in a little over an hour on the FL5 regional line. Santa Severa Beach is free in the stretches that are not under concession. A few minutes away you will find a naturist stretch, a nature reserve and an archaeological area. This guide collects the listings for the area, with the practical details we verified.

For all the beach destinations together, see our beaches near Rome hub.

Santa Severa Beaches: The Free Beach Below the Castle

Santa Severa Beach runs along the shoreline of the village of the same name, in the municipality of Santa Marinella. The castle stands right on the sand. The road reference is SS1 Via Aurelia, km 52.600.

By car from Rome, take the A12 and exit at Santa Severa Santa Marinella, then follow the Aurelia. By train, get off at Santa Severa station: the sea is a few minutes’ walk from the station square. Access is free along the whole length of the free beach, meaning the stretches that are not under concession.

Santa Severa Castle

Santa Severa Castle is built over an Etruscan port, inside the perimeter of a Roman colony. Next to it stood a sanctuary already in use in the 5th century BC. According to the official website’s price list, a ticket for the museum complex costs $4.00 (€4.00) full price and €3.00 reduced, and the Saracen Tower costs €2.00. Check the current price list before you go.

Santa Marinella: Train and Free Beach

Santa Marinella is a coastal town in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, on the Aurelia between Ladispoli and Civitavecchia. Santa Severa is the village at the southern end of its territory.

The FL5 line from Rome Termini to Civitavecchia stops at both Santa Marinella and Santa Severa. The trip takes a little over an hour, and trains run roughly every half hour. According to current regional fares, a ticket to these stations costs between €4 and €5 each way. Check the Trenitalia website for the exact times and price on the day. By car, follow the SS1 or take the A12 and exit at Santa Marinella.

Sabbie Nere: The Naturist Stretch Near the Santa Severa Beaches

South of the castle, in the municipality of Santa Marinella, lies the shoreline of Sabbie Nere di Macchiatonda. The sand is dark and iron-rich, almost anthracite gray when wet. The stretch reaches the edge of the Macchiatonda Nature Reserve.

There are no beach clubs, kiosks, showers or rentals. That is why it is the reference point for naturists north of Rome, the northern alternative to Capocotta. Visitors bring everything from home, water included. For similar spots, see our guide to Naturist Beaches Near Rome.

Macchiatonda and Pyrgi: Nature and Archaeology Next to the Castle

The Macchiatonda Nature Reserve is a 244-hectare regional protected area in the municipality of Santa Marinella. The gate is at km 49.900 of the Aurelia, just before the castle. It was established by Regional Law no. 54 of July 23, 1983, and is managed by the municipality.

Entry is free but regulated. You can go in only on set days and time slots: the park rangers open the gate for fifteen minutes and then close it again. If you arrive outside those hours, the gate is shut. Check days and hours on the listing before you go.

Pyrgi and the Sanctuary of Leucothea are next to the castle. They were the port of the Etruscan city of Caere and its maritime sanctuary. The sacred area has no regular opening: you can enter during special openings and guided visits, mostly free, organized by the Soprintendenza (the heritage authority). The rest of the year you can see it from the perimeter.

Heading North: Frasca and Bagni di Sant’Agostino

Frasca di Civitavecchia is a Natural Monument recognized by the Lazio Region. It is about nine kilometers from the port of Civitavecchia, past Santa Marinella and Santa Severa if you are coming from Rome. It covers about seventy-five hectares of rocky coast divided into small bays, with a seabed good for snorkeling, a pine grove close to the waterline and a 17th-century watchtower. For more places like this, see Hidden Coves and Secret Beaches Near Rome.

Bagni di Sant’Agostino is the southernmost stretch of the Tarquinia coast, in the province of Viterbo, about nine kilometers from the old town. It is ninety kilometers from Rome: just under an hour by car without traffic. Access to the free beach costs nothing, and neither does parking along the residential streets. For sunbeds and umbrellas at the beach clubs, check the rates on the listing.

Heading South: Ladispoli and the Palo Coast

Ladispoli is about forty kilometers from Rome and is reached by the FL5, stop Ladispoli-Cerveteri. The free beaches cost nothing. The beach clubs charge seasonal rates that change every year, so it is best to ask the club directly.

Marina di San Nicola is a seaside village of Ladispoli, just under 40 kilometers from Rome and about 3.5 from the center of Ladispoli. Access to the village is free. The roads and services of the residential area are run by a consortium: parking is regulated and paid in the summer months.

Bosco di Palo, Torre Flavia and Palo Odescalchi Castle

Bosco di Palo is a patch of forest a few hundred meters from the coast, in the municipality of Ladispoli. It is a WWF oasis with regulated access: you need to arrange your visit in advance with the organization that looks after it.

Torre Flavia Marsh is a protected area between Ladispoli and Cerveteri. It has no ticket office or turnstiles. You walk along the embankments and outer paths; guided visits leave from the office at Via Roma 141, in Ladispoli.

Palo Odescalchi Castle is not a museum. It is a private residence, still lived in by the Odescalchi family, and you can visit only by attending an event or by requesting a quote from the owners.

Inland Stops to Combine With the Santa Severa Beaches

Cerveteri is 42 kilometers from Rome. The museum and the necropolis follow the same schedule: closed Monday, open Tuesday to Sunday. The Banditaccia Necropolis is the city the Etruscans of Caere built for their dead, with streets, blocks and monumental tombs. Hours vary with the season, and the last entry is one hour before closing.

The Fosso del Norcino Cascades, in the territory of Cerveteri, have no entrance and no ticket. You leave the car at the end of Via Fosso del Norcino, near number 27, and walk about forty minutes.

Civitavecchia is about 70 kilometers from Rome, reached by the FL5 and the A12. Just outside town, on the provincial road to Tolfa, Terme Taurine and Ficoncella are two different places: the Roman archaeological area and the municipal thermal spa. Ficoncella costs €6 for half a day and €10 for a full day for non-residents.

Allumiere sits at 522 meters in the Tolfa Mountains. From Civitavecchia you continue on a Cotral bus, whose times you should check. At the far north, Montalto di Castro has the seaside village of Montalto Marina two kilometers from the center and the archaeological area of Vulci. From Rome it takes about an hour and a half by car.

If you pass through central Rome before leaving, you can stop at San Nicola da Tolentino, an Armenian Catholic church near Piazza Barberini, with free entry. It has no published opening hours: use the contacts in the listing.

Practical Tips for the Santa Severa Beaches

Train: the FL5 stops at Santa Severa and Santa Marinella. Check times and price on Trenitalia.
Car: SS1 Aurelia or the A12, exit Santa Severa Santa Marinella.
Sabbie Nere: no services. Bring water and everything you need.
Macchiatonda: entry only on set days and time slots. Check beforehand.
Beach clubs: rates change between high and low season. Ask the club.
Other coasts: farther south, see Gaeta Beaches: Sant’Agostino, Arenauta, Serapo and Sabaudia and Circeo Beaches.

To choose: the free beach below the castle is the most convenient by train. Sabbie Nere suits people who want quiet and don’t need services. For snorkeling and rocky bays, look at Frasca di Civitavecchia.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Santa Severa Beaches

How do I get to the Santa Severa beaches from Rome?

By train on the FL5 from Rome Termini, stop Santa Severa, in a little over an hour. By car, take the A12 to the Santa Severa Santa Marinella exit, then the Aurelia.