Fondi, Sperlonga, Gaeta and Naples on Dialysis — Lazio and Campania by Car

Another Dialysis Trip — This Time Central and Southern Italy

As always, I set off in my own car.

Travelling this way gives me the greatest independence and flexibility — especially on trips built around dialysis. On the way down I stopped for the night just across the Austrian-Italian border, in a private apartment booked through Airbnb.

It turned out to be an excellent choice — two bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom and a free parking space right outside. A perfect stopover before continuing south.

My base for this trip was Fondi in the Lazio region. I already knew the dialysis clinic there from a previous visit, but this time I wanted to explore the area more — quiet coastal towns, the town of Fondi itself, and above all finally see Naples, which is less than two hours’ drive away.

The plan seemed simple. Dialysis in Fondi, day trips around the region and a few days in Naples.

Reality turned out to be a little more complicated.

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Dialysis in Fondi — Back to Diaverum

I booked my sessions as always through BookDialysis — the Diaverum Fondi clinic again. A network I know well by now, so I had no concerns about the quality of care.

The clinic deserves a dedicated post of its own, so I’ll cover it in more detail in a separate article.

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Naples — A Dream City and Italian Bureaucracy

Naples had been on my travel list for a long time.

I booked accommodation and headed south. The city itself made a huge impression on me — but organising dialysis there turned out to be far more difficult than anywhere else in Italy.

The Campania region operates under different rules to the rest of the country. The procedures for visiting dialysis patients are considerably more complex and significantly more bureaucratic.

Even with an EHIC card, many centres require an additional visit to a local GP or nephrologist, who must then issue an Italian e-prescription for dialysis treatment. For a short tourist stay, this means finding a doctor, dealing with paperwork and essentially organising everything from scratch.

Honestly — when you’re already travelling, sightseeing and managing regular dialysis sessions, this simply becomes too much.

I gave up on dialysis in Naples and dialysed in Fondi throughout the entire trip. I visited Naples only for a weekend — Saturday to Monday — staying overnight after sessions completed earlier in Fondi.

Two nights is nowhere near enough for a city like that.

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Accommodation in Fondi — A Small Cottage with a Garden

In Fondi I rented a small ground-floor cottage with a private garden and a dedicated parking space.

For someone travelling by car and making regular trips to a dialysis clinic, that kind of comfort makes a real difference.

On the very first evening I noticed something unexpected — an intense aroma of spices and Indian cooking drifting through the air. At first I was surprised. Next to my accommodation was an Indian restaurant. But it quickly became clear this was no isolated tourist-facing novelty.

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Fondi — An Italian Town with an Indian Soul

Fondi is a quiet town nestled between the mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, just a few kilometres from the coast.

At first glance it looks like a typical southern Italian town — old stone buildings, narrow streets, a slow pace of life, espresso drunk standing at the bar and local trattorias on every corner.

The heart of the town is the medieval Castello Caetani — a powerful fortress that dominates the historic centre. A walk through the old town has real charm and atmosphere.

The biggest surprise, however, was the enormous Indian community living in the area.

Walking through Fondi you quickly notice that alongside Italian culture, Indian and Sikh culture is very strongly present. There are many Indian and Sikh residents on the streets, numerous restaurants, shops and places of worship. I simply did not expect to see this in a small Italian town.

In fact, most of the immigrant community here are Sikhs from Punjab in north-western India. The area is even home to an authentic Sikh temple — Gurdwara Shri Singh Sabha.

This cultural mix makes Fondi a completely different face of Italy — one you won’t find in any tourist brochure.

Why Are So Many Sikhs Living Here?

The region around Fondi is one of the most important agricultural areas in Italy.

It is home to a huge fruit and vegetable trading hub — the MOF — Mercato Ortofrutticolo di Fondi — one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Large farms and greenhouses have needed workers for decades. Many migrants from Punjab have agricultural backgrounds, which is why they found work here and gradually brought their families.

The first arrivals came to the province of Latina in the 1980s and 1990s, and from there the classic chain migration effect took hold. New arrivals knew they would find work, the support of their community and an easier start.

It is not without its problems. Italian media have long reported on the issue of caporalato — an illegal labour brokerage system in which some migrants work for very low wages and in difficult conditions.

Nevertheless, local authorities often point out that the Sikh community is well organised, peaceful and absolutely vital to the agricultural economy of the region.

Without them, many farms would simply struggle to function.

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In the next part — the beautiful coastal town of Sperlonga and Gaeta — a lovely city that unfortunately felt more like a giant car park than a seaside resort.

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