Pontine Marshes

The Pontine Marshes (Agro Pontino) are a low-lying coastal plain south of Rome on the Latium coast that historically consisted of extensive marshland and wetlands. The marshes were subject to major drainage and reclamation efforts in the 20th century, transforming much of the area into agricultural land and new towns.

Today the landscape combines cultivated plains, remaining wetland pockets and coastal areas; agriculture, small towns and protected natural areas coexist across the plain. The 1930s reclamation programme created planned towns and road networks and reduced the area of open marsh, while some marshland survives as nature reserves.

The marshes have a long human history of settlement, malaria outbreaks and periodic reclamation attempts; the large-scale Fascist-era drainage in the early 20th century is the most decisive episode in the modern landscape history.

Geographically the Pontine Marshes lie along Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast in the region of Lazio, south of the city of Rome and north of the Gulf of Gaeta; several small coastal towns and the provincial capital of Latina are located within or beside the reclaimed plain.

• 20th-century reclamation: Large-scale reclamation and drainage took place in the 1930s under Italy's Fascist government, creating new agricultural land and planned towns such as Sabaudia.
• Landscape and ecology: The area includes protected wetlands, agricultural plains and coastal dune systems and is of interest for birdlife and ecological restoration projects.