Tombs, Villas, and Aqueducts: The Via Appia and Beyond

On Friday Tom and I bundled up (seriously, it was chilly- I even wore running tights under my jeans!) and headed out on one of the Academy-sponsored Friday walks.  This week we visited some of the sites along Via Appia Antinqua, which begins near the old city walls, just a few miles from where we live.

Engagement-Photo-like shot on the Via Appia

Via Appia (often called Appian Way in English) was an ancient Roman road, which was started around 300 BC.  The road led out of the city, and in subsequent years, it was extended southeast all the way to the Pulgia region (which is the "heel" part of the Italian "boot").  In ancient times, many people were buried along this road, since Roman law prohibited burial within the city walls.  In addition, members of the Roman elite often owned large villas in the area.  These villas served as country-estates of sorts, in addition to a house in the city (and possibly other villas elsewhere as well).

Today, a large park surrounds a portion of the Via Appia.  The area is breathtakingly gorgeous and is full of ancient ruins, tree-lined trails, and even mountain views.  In fact, it was so scenic that it's easy to forget  that you're actually still in Europe's fourth largest city.  On Sundays the road is completely closed to car traffic, but even on a weekday, the traffic was minimal (really, it didn't look too fun to drive over all of those cobblestones), and there were a lot of bikers and runners out on the road.

Mausoleum of Romulus at the Villa of Maxentius

After a brief stroll along the Appian Way, our group visited the Villa of Maxentius, which includes living space (currently being excavated), a circus (meaning a chariot racetrack not unlike the Circus Maximus), and a mausoleum (monument and burial site).  Although the villa had previous owners (including a man who possibly murdered his wife), it is named after the Roman Emperor Maxentius, who counted this villa as one of his many palaces.

This was one of those times when we were reminded of how lucky we are to be part of the American Academy community, since the public actually cannot visit most of this site.  We also had the opportunity to be shown around by the archeologist directing the excavations at the site, so we were able to learn a lot about it.  Interestingly, early excavations reveal that Mexentius's renovations on the villa may never have been completed, so it's not entirely clear to what extent he used it (although it is known that his son, Romulus, who drowned at the age of nine, was buried in the mausoleum).

View of the Circus at Maxentius's Villa

View of a 12th Century Castle from Maxentius's Villa 

Burial Monument along the Appian Way

After our visit to the villa, a few of us decided to continue our journey, and took an hour or so stroll over to another nearby park, Parco degli Acquedotti (or "Park of the Aqueducts").  It was a lot of fun to walk some more along the Appian Way, look at the burial monuments, and to just chat with friends and enjoy the sunny weather. It was also interesting to see a bit of the city between the parks, since it felt a lot quieter and quainter than the Rome we are used to.  It was actually a bit tricky to find, but we eventually ran into a nice old man who let us cut through a soccer field, and, from there, it wasn't too hard to cross the train tracks and make our way over to the aqueducts.

View of the City Between the Parks

Aqua Claudia

It was well worth our effort, though, because the aqueduct park was magnificent.  The highlight, of course, was seeing the ruins of the Aqua Claudia, a massive aqueduct built in the first century AD.  When in use, the aqueduct ran approximately 45 miles.  Much of its course was underground, but as it neared the city, the water flowed through a beautiful above-ground arched structure.

From a distance, the aqueduct looks impressive enough, but when standing next to the massive arches, we were really stuck by the extent of the ancient Romans' skill and ingenuity. Once again, the views from the park were absolutely beautiful, and we had a great time just wandering around the space for an hour or so.

A Little Perspective on the Size (That's me in the red mittens!)

Beautiful Park Scenery 

View of Another, Smaller Aqueduct in the Park

Afternoon Shadows in the Park

As with most things we've done, we hope to be back before our year here is over.  We had a great time even in the early February cold, so I can only imagine how much fun we'll have once it's warm enough to spread out a blanket, have a picnic, and maybe throw around a frisbee for a bit.  (I'm actually not too good at frisbee, but it sounds a bit more idyllic than  than that game with a ball and velcro mitts...)  Plus, you really do need more than one day to see everything these parks have to offer. Hopefully those warm sunny days will be here soon.  In the meantime, we hope all of our friends and family back home are staying warm in the cold and rain/snow. Spring shouldn't be too far off for you all, either!

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Sun. Feb 10:  It's been sunny, but cold.  Lows around (or even below) freezing and highs only in the mid-40s.