The Via Appia, the queen of Roman roads, runs straight through the middle of Fondi, and the town's grid of streets still follows the plan of the Roman settlement it once was. Built from 312 BC to link Rome with Capua and later extended to Brindisi, the Appia crossed the coastal plain here, between the mountains and the sea, and Fondi grew up around it as a stopping place. In the historic centre, the main street follows the line of the ancient road, and stretches of the Roman walls survive, built of huge polygonal blocks. The Via Appia was recognised by UNESCO in 2024 as a World Heritage Site, with Fondi as one of its components.
The town has more to offer than the Roman road. The Castello Caetani, a medieval castle with a tall round keep, stands at the edge of the old town, and the noble Caetani family left their mark on many buildings. Fondi today is also known for its huge wholesale fruit and vegetable market, one of the largest in Europe, which supplies much of Italy with produce from the surrounding plain.
The modern road that follows the line of the Appia, the SS7, is busy and not particularly exciting to ride, with heavy traffic and plenty of trucks. But the roads that climb into the Ausoni and Aurunci mountains around Fondi are a different story, with narrow, winding routes through olive groves and oak woods, small villages and wide views over the plain and the sea. Lenola, about six kilometres away, is a hill village with a sanctuary and a good view.
The coast is close by, with the lagoon-like Lake of Fondi and the beaches of the Riviera di Ulisse, named after Ulysses, who according to legend stopped here on his travels. Sperlonga, a white hilltop village above the sea, has the ruins of a villa built by the emperor Tiberius, with a grotto where spectacular sculptures were found. Terracina and Gaeta are other fine towns along the coast. Fondi has fuel, shops and restaurants, and the local food includes buffalo mozzarella, fresh vegetables and seafood. Summers are hot, so the mountain roads are best in the morning or evening.