Park of the Aqueducts

The Park of the Aqueducts is an urban green area of Rome, in Municipio VII, part of the suburban regional park of Appia Antica.

The name is not accidental: there are seven Aqueducts, six from the Roman period (Acqua Marcia, Tepula, Iulia, Claudia, Anio Novus and Vetus) and one from the Renaissance (Felice Aqueduct).

It lies between the Appio Claudio district, via delle Capannelle and the Rome-Cassino-Naples railway line, covering an area of approximately 240 hectares.

The name derives from the presence in the elevated or underground of seven Roman and papal aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome: Anio Vetus (underground), Marcia, Tepula, Iulia and Felice (superimposed), Claudio and Anio Novus (superimposed). In the past the area was known as Old Rome from the name of the homonymous farmhouse.

The area, intended for public parks by the 1965 master plan, in the seventies had been expropriated and freed from the slums, the so-called "hamlets" that leaned against the Felice aqueduct and towards which Don Roberto Sardelli had committed himself. Although the superintendency had provided for the restorations, everything had remained rather abandoned and new illegal buildings were constantly arising in the area.

In 1986, faced with the state of degradation of the area and the risk of building speculation, some citizens created the Committee for the protection of the Parco degli Acquedotti and Roma Vecchia. Thanks also to the support of some intellectuals, such as Lorenzo Quilici, in 1988 the committee succeeded in having the area of ??the Aqueducts included in the Appia Antica Regional Park.

The latest improvements carried out are the elimination of the old unauthorized gardens, the water and landscape restoration of the Marrana dell'Acqua Mariana and the cycle-pedestrian connection with the Tor Fiscale area.

The park has been used as a film set for various productions, including La dolce vita, Mamma Roma, Il marchese del Grillo, The great beauty and the television series Rome.

The park represents the remnant of a stretch of Agro Romano that originally extended without interruption to the Alban Hills, and is rich in tree vegetation, in particular pines. It also includes a small lake that flows from the Felice aqueduct and which gives life to a stream and a waterfall that trace the ancient Marrana of the Acqua Mariana.

The view from the park sweeps towards the Castelli Romani and the neighboring districts, but undergoes the frequent passage at low altitude of planes landing at the nearby Ciampino airport. It is a frequent destination for visitors and amateurs, who can enjoy extensive dirt tracks for jogging and mountain biking, in addition to the private sports facilities existing in the area dedicated to football, five-a-side football, tennis, rugby and golf. Agricultural and livestock activities are still carried out there.

Map: Park of the Aqueducts

vCard Info:

Address: Via Lemonia, 00174
Roma (RM) Lazio
Latitude: 41.852173524388824
Longitude: 12.556815147399902
Site: http://www.parcoappiaantica.it...

vCard created by: Marco Messina
Currently owned by: Marco Messina

Type: Area
Function: Archaeological site
Creation date:
Last update: 07/11/2022