Terracina is a pleasant seaside resort in the south of the Lazio region, between Rome and Naples. It was an important port on the Roman Appian Way, and the site of a major temple to Jupiter. Nowadays the modern town spreads out on the plain below the hills, along a wide sandy beach which attracts many summer visitors.Terracina was founded on a hill overlooking the sea at the end of the marshy coastal plain of southern Latium. Its origin with the name of Anxur is most likely Volscan, although its Latin name very similar to Tarquinia could indicate an Etruscan possession. It soon became a Roman colony and rapidly flourished because of its strategic position on Via Appia which crossed the town. The Emperor Trajan did not hesitate to cut a rock to make Via Appia straighter.