|
He
entrusted two architects with the project for the harbour of Anzio,
being encouraged in this by some cardinals residing there in their own
villas and by the inhabitants of the place, who longed to have a safe
port for fishing, which had always been the major resource of the
village. The
architects, Fontana and Zinaghi, presented to the Pontiff two plans,
very different from each other. Fontana designed the restoration of
the ancient Neronian port, a possible shortening of the piers, leaving
silted up the base as it was, and the preservation of the rampart, at
a cost of 25,000 scudi. Zinaghi instead, clearly favoured the
construction of a new port, with a pier linking up to the left of the
Neronian one at a cost of 15,000 scudi.
 |
Fontana
immediately realised the serious mistake made by Zinaghi. Having
estimated the currents of the place, he was convinced that the new
harbour designed by his rival, would have been blocked by sand in
a short period of time. In spite of this, he did not inform
Innocent XII about his intuition and, in this way, he left the
final decision to the Pope. The choice that resulted was based
only on economising and, for that reason, the plan of Zinaghi was
approved. During the course of the works, he too noticed the
colossal mistake of a port in such position that it formed an
inlet for sand because the regular current did not have an way
out. |
Therefore
Zinaghi thought about resorting to the system adopted by the ancient
inhabitants, that was a half-moon shaped pier, but he did not do
anything about it, to avoid major expenses. However,
before the end of the works which were started in May 1698, he suspended
all the operations and, disguised as a priest, having changed his name,
he took shelter in the Kingdom of Naples, where he disappeared without
leaving any trace. Being the architect of the Pope, Fontana had to
finish the work and the Apostolic Chamber had to pay out a considerable
amount of money, superior to the estimate, of about 230,000 scudi.
 |
Fontana and other
architects employed by the Popes as time went on, succeeded for the most
part in solving the problem of silting up, by spending a tremendous sum
of money, till Anzio got its new port, perfectly efficient and with an
annual maintenance of little account. Today, to the visitor who reaches
the harbour, by going along Via XX Settembre until the pier, near Piazza
S. Antonio, where there is the berth for hydrofoils going to the Pontine
Islands, the sudden spectacle is similar to the one we can see arriving
in St. Peter Square in Rome. The majesty of the dome and the colonnade
which encircles it, is mirrored in the long piers and in the docks with
the neighbouring buildings, which surround the stretch of water
counterpointed by anchored boats.
 |
The
harbour has an area of 18,500 square meters: piers and docks cover
approximately 1,000 square meters. The major activity of the port is
fishing and this tradition goes back to the Volscan period when it
was still working the early one, so called “Caenon”. Three
thousands years have passed and this activity has never been
interrupted. A small fleet of fishing boats still depends on Anzio
and, even with a rough sea, it leaves every morning to come back at
the sunset, when it starts the ritual of unloading the fish and
cleaning the nets. The sale of the fish starts immediately on the
pier. Along the eastern pier and the dockyard “Pamphili” several
racing and pleasure crafts, owned by motorboat and sailing lovers
are lined up. |
Just beside these,
there are the boats of Carabinieri, Police, Customs Officers, Harbour
Master’s Office, which are entrusted to control the coast traffic.
While walking along the docks, looking at the shop-windows, sitting in
one of the several cafes or on the veranda of a restaurant, it is
possible to admire in the stretch of water facing the port, all along
the line of the horizon, the sport of many surfers. For residents and
tourists, to walk along the western dock is a must: the foam of the
waves against the reef, the manoeuvring of the boats, the curving of the
fishing-rods as they hang over the rocks, everything is coloured by the
reflection of the sea and enriched
by the salt smelling of the breeze, offering new emotions every time.  |
