European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Shops and restaurants now line the Harbor at Anzio Italy where Allied troops staged a notable Landing on Jan. 22, 1944. File tourists fill the beaches where allies landed in 44 by Clyde Haberman new York times Nero was born in Anzio Italy and liked the town so much that he would return in the summer living in a Villa on a Cliff overlooking the tyrrhenian sea. Caligula was born in the same town and there Are people who wonder How it is that Actium As it used to be called managed to produce two roman emperors of such enduring infamy. At any rate Caligula too spent holidays on the Anzio Shore. Not much has changed Over the millenniums. Romans still flock to Anzio when the weather turns warm to lie on the Gritty beaches or to stroll on warm evenings under the Palm Trees and the Pines. They Are still government people Many of them although hardly in the same class As before. Emperors have yielded to civil servants ancient Villas now ruins have yielded to modern condominiums. The town is filled to brimming most Summers. In the heat the permanent population of 31,000 swells to 100,000 or More and turns the 38 Miles of Road from Rome into elongated parking lots. For Anzio this is the quiet season of the year a time to catch its breath before the approaching tide of tourism. Pleasure boats lie at Anchor and the gently curving port is Calm. There is plenty of life however. Fishing boats Putter in to repair nets and engines or to sell a meager catch from the polluted tyrrhenian. It is also a season for memories As the town recalls events that turned it from a Mere resort into a notable entry in the annals of world War ii. On Jan. 22, 1944, . And British troops landed on the beaches of Anzio and neighbouring Nettuno taking occupying German forces by Surprise and paving the Way for the Allied liberation of Rome Sardinia u the following june 4. The Landing itself was deceptively easy. But the germans swiftly reassembled and counterattacked. Heavy fighting continued into the Spring leaving Many thousands of soldiers dead and reducing most of Anzio to rubble. The . Military cemetery is in nearby Nettuno where most of the american forces landed. Yet it is the name of Anzio that endures. People in Nettuno say they do not resent that fact but they Are keenly aware of it nonetheless. In the cemetery lie 7,862 american soldiers. The Walls of a Marble memorial Bear the names of 3,094 others whose bodies were never found. The British military cemetery for nearly 2,300 dead is in Anzio where the bulk of British forces came ashore and there is a Field of German dead in Pomelia 17 Miles North. Italians especially older ones often visit Anzio and Nettuno to stroll along the quiet paths that separate the manicured Fields of crosses and stars of David Bright White against the grass. Some leave Flowers especially on nov. 1, All saints Day. Mayor Antonio Simeoni of Nettuno says he visits the american cemetery every Day just to get away from the Bustle of his office and think. The War is not a particularly painful memory in Anzio. Most residents had been evacuated before the fighting so civilian casualties were few. People were Able to return and rebuild what the bombs and artillery shells had destroyed. Perhaps they rebuilt too quickly some now say. They were so eager to resume their lives that they put up houses in crazy quilt fashion hugging the old port and paying scant attention to what would fall today under the heading of Urban development. They had a City plan that was interesting says Castore Marigliani a former Anzio mayor. It was t accepted however because a lot of residents would have been deprived of a Chance to rebuild their houses where their Homes used to be. It s too bad. It was a Good Opportunity for  change came anyway. Today s population is More than double what it was right after the War in part As the result of a surge of migration from the South. Rapid growth put a squeeze on the town which discovered that relative smallness did not Grant it immunity from big City problems. Water pollution and traffic congestion Are two major headaches. So too is youth unemployment which has climbed Well into double digits and is Only partly relieved by a summer spurt of jobs in tourist hotels restaurants and bars. For All their problems Anzio s youngsters do not seem driven by a desire to leave. They re curious to see the rest of the world says mayor Giulio d Amico. But then they come  that is testimony to the pleasantness of life in Anzio some say. Others though believe that Anzio could do with a bit of a shake up. Mayor d Amico does not disagree. On his desk in fact Are plans fora new port larger than the existing one providing More berths for private boats and More parking spaces for autos. Not everyone likes the mayor s idea. Opponents say the additional parking spaces for instance will invite too Many cars. A few people also detect an element of me Taoism in the plan part of Anzio s mild rivalry with Nettuno which has a new Marina. Still others Roll their eyes heavenward and say they have been hearing about a new port for year s. Somehow nothing Ever happens they complain maybe because of a succession of revolving door municipal governments. 22 stripes Magazine february 16, 1989