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34-896: The park aims to be a "green wedge" between the centre of Rome and the Alban Hills to the southeast. It contains a majority of the relics of Ancient Rome to be found outside the city centre. It consists of the Appian Way , from the centre of Rome to the 10th Mile, including the Villa of the Quintilii ; the Park of the Caffarella ; the Tombs of Via Latina archaeological zone; and the Aqueduct Park as well as other areas not accessible to

68-465: A Roman senator and through his marriage to Annia Regilla he acquired the land of the estate. Two ruins in the park date from that time, the tomb of Annia Regilla and the Nympheum of Egeria . Six Roman aqueducts made their way into Rome through this small area, which takes its name from a 13th Century watchtower. Over the years the area was a popular encampment for armies seeking to invade Rome as it

102-635: A line taken by the modern railway to Naples , and passing below the Hernican hill-towns , Anagni (where it joined with the Via Praenestina ), Ferentino , Frosinone , and others. At Fregellae , it crossed the Liri , and then passed through Aquino and Cassino , both comparatively low-lying towns. It then entered the interval between the Apennines and the volcanic group of Rocca Monfina , and

136-481: A quiescent volcanic complex in Italy , located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rome and about 24 km (15 mi) north of Anzio . The 950 m (3,120 ft) high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak in the centre of the caldera, but the highest point is Maschio delle Faete approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) to the east of Cavo and 6 m (20 ft) taller. There are subsidiary calderas along

170-414: A series of corridors. To organize the excavation, each room was given a letter to symbolize where it was located and what art work was depicted inside. The excavation of the catacombs took place in four stages starting with the stairways and finishing with the 3 corridors and their adjoining rooms. The Catacombs of Via Latina , compared to other Roman catacombs, were recently discovered. The artwork within

204-479: A short stretch of the old Roman road of Via Latina, on the southeast outskirts of Rome, within the Regional Park. They now constitute an archaeological park and can be visited. The tombs were discovered in 1857–58. Excavations supported by Pope Pius IX subsequently uncovered various sepulchers and tombs along a 450m stretch of the old road. The Caffarella Valley is a large park bordered on its northern side by

238-544: The Castelli Romani park in the other. The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of ancient Rome. It connected Rome to Brindisi in southeast Italy. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the road fell out of use. On the orders of Pope Pius VI the road was restored and a new Appian Way was built in 1784 in parallel with the old one, as far as

272-667: The Circus and Mausoleum of Maxentius, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella , the Roman baths of Capo di Bove , the Tomb of Hilarus Fuscus , the Mausoleum of the Orazi and Curiazi and the Mausoleum of Casal Rotondo . In places along this stretch of the road the original surface of volcanic rock is exposed. The Tombs of Via Latina are Roman tombs, mainly from the 2nd century AD, that are found along

306-640: The Via Latina and on its southern by the Appian Way . It extends lengthways from the Aurelian Wall up to the Via dell'Almone and contains several items of archaeological interest, as well as a working farm, and has considerable ecological value, with 78 species of birds and fauna. In Roman times much of the area was occupied by a large estate known as the Triopius . Herodes Atticus was a Greek who became

340-527: The Alban Hills are known as the Castelli Romani . Examination of deposits have dated the four most recent eruptions to two temporal peaks, around 36,000 and 39,000 years ago. The area exhibits small localised earthquake swarms, bradyseism , and release of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere. The uplift and earthquake swarms have been interpreted as caused by a slowly growing spherical magma chamber 5-6 kilometres below

374-668: The Alban Hills. The new road is the Via Appia Nuova ("New Appian Way") as opposed to the old section, now known as Via Appia Antica . Mile 1 to Mile 10 falls within the Regional Park. Noted monuments along the route include Porta Appia ( Porta San Sebastiano ), the gate of the Aurelian Walls, the Tomb of Priscilla , the Christian catacombs of Saint Sebastian , and Callixtus and the Jewish catacomb of Vigna Randanini ,

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408-613: The Appian Way, with the assistance of Luigi Canina . After Italian unification further efforts were made to develop an archaeological walk from the city centre to Rome's southeast, but this only reached as far as the Baths of Caracalla . In 1931, a new plan envisaged the Appian Way to become a great park but this idea was threatened after the Second World War with the construction of illegal villas and sports clubs close to

442-481: The Appian Way. It was built by the brothers Sextus Quintilius Maximus and Sextus Quintilius Condianus during the 2nd century. The villa included extensive thermae fed by its own aqueduct , and a hippodrome , dating from the fourth century. The emperor Commodus coveted the villa strongly enough to put to death the brothers in 182 and confiscate it for himself. The villa lies to the south of Via Tuscolana. Its name probably derives from Septimius Bassus, prefect under

476-530: The Emperor Septimius Severus (193 – 211), and is second in size only to the villa of the Quintilii. It was built towards the middle of the second century, close to the fifth mile of the Via Latina , in the time of Emperor Antoninus Pius . Slightly to the west of the main park area, Tor Marancia is an undulating, wooded area containing considerable biodiversity for an area so close to Rome's suburbs. In addition to sites from ancient Rome,

510-836: The Flood Scene, Abraham's vision of the Three Angels under the Oak of Mamre, Crossing of the Red Sea, and the Ascension of Elijah and the Good Shepherd. The photo on the right, the Resurrection of Lazarus , is one of the many religious stories told on the walls of the catacombs. Viewers can see the figure assumed to be Jesus raising a man from the dead as his disciples watch with intent. Viewers may also notice Moses in

544-539: The Regional Park includes, or borders on, many religious sites and other points of interest, including: Given the vastness of the park, it can be reached by various means of transport that connect different areas and entrances of the park. There are four Rome Metro stations located near the Appian Way Regional Park: Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( Italian : Colli Albani ) are the caldera remains of

578-639: The Tor Marancia. The Park remains 95% in private hands: 40% is held by aristocratic Roman families; 25% by companies; 21% by small landowners and 10% by the Catholic Church. Attempts to take more of the land into public possession have been constrained by a lack of funds. There remain ambitious plans to extend the Park all the way into Rome as far as the Roman Forum in one direction, and as far as

612-651: The Via Appia was made only twenty-two years later. It follows, too, a far more natural line of communication, without the engineering difficulties that the arrow-straight Via Appia had to overcome. As a through-route, it preceded the Via Labicana , though the latter may have been preferred in later times. After their junction, the Via Latina continued to follow the valley of the Trerus ( River Sacco ), following

646-541: The architectural fragments of the temple were still in existence until 1777, when they were used to build the Passionist monastery by Cardinal York , but the Via Triumphalis leading up to it can still be seen. In Roman times, the area was often used by the rich as a way to escape the heat and crowds of Rome, as it is today as shown by the many villas and country houses present. The towns and villages in

680-528: The catacombs has a different painting or subject depicted on the walls. Christian stories from the Old Testament and the New Testament fill the vast majority of rooms. Pagan art, specifically the hero Hercules , are included within specific rooms to which is one of the reasons why the Via Latina catacombs are special. Every room is typically denoted with a letter to help with organization of

714-516: The catacombs is from the Medieval period . The art in the tomb is dated back to the 4th century. These particular catacombs in Rome, Italy , depict images of both pagan and Christian artwork. It is unknown whether this tomb belonged to a specific family or a fraternity. The art fills every room in the catacombs. The catacombs were excavated in 1955 and published officially in 1962. Each room inside

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748-465: The different rooms and artworks. Room N is decorated of entirely paintings of the pagan hero Hercules The paintings show Hercules as a hero or savior. There is also said to be a focus on the after-life and life after death in Room N. For many of the other rooms, the subject matter is primarily Christian art, depicting images of both the Old Testament and the New Testament . Notable art scenes depicted are

782-662: The ground in the absence of wind. The asphyxiation of 29 cows in September 1999 prompted a detailed survey, which found that concentration of the gas at 1.5 m above the ground in a residential area on the northwestern flank sometimes exceeded the occupational health threshold of 0.5%. Eight sheep were killed in a similar incident in October 2001. Writers and artists who have produced work about this area include: Via Latina The Via Latina ( Latin for "Latin Road")

816-600: The legendary Alba Longa and Tusculum ). The area was inhabited by the Latini during the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. The ancient Romans called Monte Cavo Albanus Mons . On the summit was the sanctuary of Jupiter Latiaris, in which the consuls celebrated the Feriae Latinae , and several generals celebrated victories here during times when they were not accorded regular triumphs in Rome. The foundations and some of

850-538: The monuments and other housing that encroached on the edges of the zone. Moreover, the new ring road for Rome, the Grande Raccordo Anulare , cut in two the Appian Way at the seventh mile, a mistake that was only rectified with the construction of a tunnel before the Great Jubilee of 2000. The Park finally became a reality in 1988 and in 2002 it was expanded with the purchase of an area known as

884-417: The old Via Latina through Venafrum, 126 Roman miles by the shortcut past Rufrae (now Presenzano ). Considerable remains of the road exist in the neighborhood of Rome; for the first 40 Roman miles, as far as Compitum Anagninum , it is not followed by any modern road; while farther on in its course it is in the main identical with the modern highroad. The Tombs of Via Latina are tombs over a short stretch of

918-459: The original road and, instead of traversing it, turned abruptly northeast over the mountains to Venafro , thus giving a direct communication with the interior of Samnium by roads to Isernia and Telese . After the disorders of the civil wars, the via Latina was repaired by a group of prominent Romans, including Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus ; the work was under way in 27 BC, at the time of Tibullus ' elegy. In later times, however, there

952-405: The public. The idea of a great archaeological park between the Roman Forum and the Alban Hills dates back to Napoleonic times. Following initial restoration work on one tomb by Antonio Canova in 1807 and 1808 and subsequent restoration in the area of the Tomb of Caecilia Metella by Giuseppe Valadier , it was Pope Pius IX who took the first major steps to organize the archaeological ruins of

986-405: The rim of the Alban Hills that contain the lakes Albano and Nemi . The hills are composed of peperino (lapis albanus), a variety of tuff that is useful for construction and provides a mineral-rich substrate for nearby vineyards . The hills, especially around the shores of the lakes, have been popular since prehistoric times. From the 9th to 7th century BC, there were numerous villages (see

1020-439: The road just outside Rome. Above ground they are largely reconstructed, but the underground chambers survived. They are now in an "archaeological park". They are not to be confused with the small Christian Via Latina Catacomb, only rediscovered in 1955, with many paintings. It is unknown whether the catacombs were built as one big master plan or if it was built in stages. The catacombs consist of many separate rooms all connected by

1054-511: The surface; some think that it may erupt again; if so, there is risk to Rome , which is only 25 to 30 km away. There is documentary evidence which may describe an eruption in 114 BC, but the absence of Holocene geological deposits has largely discredited it as a volcanic event and instead the account is considered to be a description of a forest fire . The volcano emits large amounts of carbon dioxide which can potentially reach lethal concentrations if it accumulates in depressions in

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1088-649: Was a Roman road of Italy , running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus ; it was important in the early military history of Rome. It must have preceded the Via Appia as a route to Campania , in as much as the Latin colony at Cales was founded in 334 BC and must have been accessible from Rome by road, whereas

1122-470: Was in all probability a shortcut by Rufrae along the line taken by the modern highroad and railway. The two lines rejoined near the present railway station of Caianiello , and the road ran to Teanum and Cales, and so to Casilinum , where there was the crossing of the Volturno and the junction with the Via Appia. The distance from Rome to Casilinum was 129 Roman miles by the Via Appia, 135 Roman miles by

1156-586: Was on the Via Latina and close to the Appian Way. The Parco degli Acquedotti is a public park of approximately 240 ha. The park is named after the aqueducts that dissect it, the Aqua Felix and the Aqua Claudia . It also contains the remains of the Villa delle Vignacce to the North West. The Villa of the Quintilii (Italian: Villa dei Quintili) is an ancient Roman villa beyond the fifth mile of

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