A coastal resort in the province of Rome, Ladispoli (city of Ladislas) was founded in the late XIX century by Prince Ladislao Odescalchi, whose family, originally from the Como area, had moved into the area, near to Rome, after the election to the Pope of Benedict Odescalchi ( Pope Innocent XI).
The discovery of a skull of the prehistoric times, in the nearby Grotta Patrizi, attests that settlements were established in the area since ancient times. Near the village of Palo, once stood the ancient Etruscan town of Alsium that during the advent of Rome, became a Roman colony, a resort area of the nobility of the City (traditions tell that Pompeo and Caesar had villas built here). With the fall of the Roman Empire, the area experienced serious damage by the troops of Totila. The Castle of Palo, stronghold of the Orsini, was bought by Odescalchi in 1693, and around the castle a real village developed. In order to free the castle of the local residents and vacationers, Ladislao Odescalchi founded in 1888 a modern town centre named after him, in a strip of land between the rivers of Sanguinara and Vaccina. The work was entrusted to the engineer Vittorio Cantoni.
Sites of Interest:
- the remains of seaside villa in the district of Marina di Palo and those of the rural villa of Grottaccia;
- the remains of the villa of Pompeo, in the district of Marina di San Nicola;
- the remains of a Roman cistern, and a barbaric Necropolis of the V century A.D.;
- an Etruscan Necropolis, in the district of Monteroni;
- La Posta Vecchia, a XVII century building, today a famous hotel, built on the ruins of an ancient Roman villa, surrounded on three sides by a beautiful garden and lapped by the sea on the fourth side;
- the Odescalchi Castle, built by the Orsini family in the XIV century and owned by the Odescalchi Family since 1693;
- the Torre Flavia, the symbol of the city, reduced to ruins after the bombings of World War II;
- the XIV century Castellaccio of Monteroni, a fortified structure with four corner towers, recently restored;
- the WWF oasis of Bosco di Palo;
- the WWF oasis of the marsh area of Torre Flavia.