Sperlonga - Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Outside Sperlonga, in an olive-grove, the very interesting Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Sperlonga houses an excellent collection of original Greek sculpture in marble. Most of the items, found in the Grotta di Tiberio, are now reduced to the condition of huge torsos. The finest piece is the "Ship of Odysseus", by the sculptor responsible for the famous Laocoon group now in Rome, which depicts Odysseus and his companions struggling with the marine monster Scylla. Between the museum and the sea are remains of the Emperor Tiberius's villa and of ancient basins hewn from the rock, which were used for the rearing of fish (aquationes). Close by is the entrance to the Grotta di Tiberio, in which the Emperor Tiberius is supposed to have caroused with his friends. Since 1957 some 7,000 fragments of Greek statues have been discovered here.