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Parco degli Acquedotti

Typology: Historical park

Address

Address: Via Lemonia, 256
Zone: Quartiere Appio Claudio (Roma sud)

Contacts

Scheduled events

Description

The park lies between the Via Appia and ViaTuscolana, and is bounded by Via Lemonia, where the park entrance has an information point, Via delle Capannelle, Via Appia and Via del Quadraro.

The area is characterised by the presence of as many as seven aqueducts and other ancient buildings, including the Villa of the Vignacce and the Roma Vecchia farmhouse. The aqueducts are the Anio Vetus, Anio Novus, Aqua Marcia, Aqua Tepula, Aqua Julia, Aqua Claudia and the Felice aqueduct, the latter dating back to the Renaissance. It was built by Sixtus V in 1585 by using the arches of the Aqua Marcia aqueduct and is still functioning today.

In Via del Quadraro, where we can admire the arches of the Claudian aqueduct at their maximum height (27-28 metres), recent excavations have brought to light a series of structures including some burial monuments, a building identified as a temple or mausoleum, a small columbarium, remains of the basalt paving of the Via Latina and an inn (mansio) with baths facilities. All these structures are not currently visible because they have been covered up again.

The villa known as le Vignacce is one of the largest suburban villas of this area and dates back to between the 2nd and 4th century AD. It was probably built by Q. Servilius Pudent, a wealthy manufacturer of bricks in Hadrian’s reign (117-138 AD), as attested by certain stamps bearing his name on bricks and lead piping (fistulae) found during the excavations. The preserved remains of the villa belong to a great baths complex and a two-storey cistern fed by the nearby Aqua Marcia Aqueduct.

The Roma Vecchia farmhouse and its surrounding area take their name from the nearby villa called Sette Bassi because the 18th century populace took the huge scale of the ruins as evidence of another ancient city similar to Rome. The farmhouse building is actually a tower-house situated along the Via Latina and probably on the site of an old post station dating back to the 13th century. The house lies in a strategic position between the Aqua Claudia and Aqua Marcia aqueducts.

Adjacent to the Roma Vecchia farmhouse runs the Acqua Mariana channel, known as “marrana” in the Middle Ages. This mostly open-air channel was created by Pope Calixtus II in 1120 to provide Rome with the water of the Aqua Tepula and Aqua Julia aqueducts. Since that time the word “marrana” has been used in Rome for all water channels of the city. Alongside the channel are the remains of a 13th century tower built on an ancient Roman cistern. Further along, between the Claudian aqueduct and the Rome-Cassino railway line, there is the so-called “tomb of the hundred steps” (tomba dei cento scalini), called after the number of steps leading down to the burial chamber. Here, some niches (arcosolia) contain marble sarcophagi with weathered covers. Some passageways were later dug in the tomb, probably to be used as catacombs.

The Visitor center of the area is at the entrance of the park.  

Educational activities

Educational activities and services for schools
Free. Info and booking tel. 06. 39967800 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat 9am-1.30pm

Services

» Bowling green
» Equipped Playing Area for Children

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Hospitality › Services › Tourist services and fairs

All'interno di

Culture and leisure › Green › Gardens, villas and urban parks

See also

Culture and leisure › Cultural heritage › Architectural and historical heritage

For more information

Hospitality › Services › Tourist services and fairs
Culture and leisure › Cultural heritage › Archaeological heritage
Last checked: 2023-01-26 14:32