In the Archaic period, the Via Prenestina connected Rome to Praeneste, the current Palestrina. The road started from the Esquiline gate, passed the Aurelian walls from Porta Maggiore to cross, roughly like the modern path, the undulating Roman Countryside and the hills of the Monti Prenestini. The Via Praenestina reached Palestrina, the powerful Praeneste, which still retains a fascination of archaic suggestions, made even more evident by its modern history. In fact, coincidentally, the bombings that struck Palestrina during World War II have given back to the city the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, buried for a great part by the buildings that had overlapped it over the centuries. In pre-Roman and Roman times, it was one of the most revered places of worship by the Italic populations: they flocked from afar to consult the “sorti” (fate) that were extracted from a child, as Cicero narrates in a famous passage from De Divinitate. The sacred complex stretched along the slopes of Mount Ginestro, now occupied by the urban agglomeration, and culminated in three overlapping terraces, on the last one of which stood a circular building surrounded by a hemicycle.

In the Middle Ages, the site was a feud of the Colonna; in 1498 Francesco Colonna, a cultist of esotericism and alchemy, as well as a lover of antiquity, commissioned one of the greatest Renaissance architects, Donato Bramante, to erect a new building inside the hemicycle now known as Colonna Barberini Palace. The palace houses the National Archaeological Museum, where, among several remains, it is possible to admire the marvelous mosaic depicting the flooding of the Nile, an Alexandrian work of the 2nd century B.C., and the extraordinary sculptural group of the Capitoline Triad. A bit further, Castel San Pietro Romano deserves a visit just to go in search of its narrow streets, which made for a scenic backdrop to one of the most famous Italian movies, “Bread, Love and Fantasy”, starring Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida. The cultural heritage in the Praenestine territory is not only archaeological. An extraordinary series of initiatives aims at giving continuity to the memories from the past. An example, the new museums housed in famous noble residences, given back to the citizens. Cave and Rocca di Cave villages lie nearby. They are both connected to the tuff caves in the proximities and are where the castles and boroughs were built in the 10th century. The castle in Rocca di Cave is externally preserved and the bulk of it does not let the eye see how it is almost completely destroyed in its internal parts. San Gregorio da Sassola, whose name derives from Saint Gregory the Great, is overlooked by the Brancaccio Castle too, which dates back to the 10th century and, although widely reworked, has kept the look of castles we find in fairy tales and holds inside fantastic frescos by Federico Zuccari. Narrow alleys and typical houses give the impression that in the medieval hamlet time has stopped, while in Borgo Pio people can visit the church of Madonna della Cavata (1500s) and the church of San Sebastiano (1400s).

The main buildings of Genazzano were built by the Colonna, starting from the enormous castle. The first nucleus of the building dates back to the 11th century, when it was built as a medieval fortress, but the current appearance is the result of the 15th and 16thcentury interventions due to Pope Martin V Colonna and Marcantonio Colonna, who turned it into an elegant residence. Inside, the Renaissance frescoes exalt the Colonna family and its origins: in a beautiful chapel, there are 16th century frescoes attributed to the school of Cavalier d’Arpino. Not far from the castle, there are the ruins of a nymphaeum, used for theatrical performances and festivals that Bramante built between 1501 and 1503 on the model of an ancient nymphaeum, so much so that for a long time it was considered to date back to the Romans. The immense spaces of this beautiful building, purchased in 1979 by the Municipality, have become the headquarters of the International Museum of Contemporary Art, which has begun its exhibition activity in over twenty rooms, covering a total of 3,000 square meters. Subiaco is known for the Nero’s villa, consisting of several pavilions around three artificial lakes, and its monasteries. In the 5th century, in fact, the young Benedict, horrified by the infighting of the Roman Church, withdrew in the mountains and here lived in complete solitude inside a cave. After beginning his preaching to the shepherds of the area, he founded thirteen monasteries based on the Benedictine rule “ora et labora” (pray and work). Nowadays, the Saint Scholastica and the Holy Cave Monasteries remain magnificent examples of the spirituality of this territory, immersed in a still wild nature.

The territory crossed by the Via Clodia, now Claudia Braccianese, is an unexpected environment in which the only protagonist is a luxuriant nature and a suggestive and quiet landscape that invites to relaxing atmospheres. The street was built by an unspecified member of the gens Clodia, with the aim of connecting originally Rome to the lake area and then to the Etruscan countries of the Grosseto area, such as Vetulonia. The road did not start from Rome but separated from the Via Cassia at La Storta and then headed towards the lake of Bracciano, which the Romans called Sabatinus. Extending for more than 50 square kilometers inside the perimeter of a volcanic basin, the lake still has very pure waters, exploited by the emperor Trajan to supply some areas of Rome, including the right bank of the Tiber (Trastevere).
The aqueduct was reactivated at the beginning of the 17th century by Pope Paul V, who gave his name to the restored pipeline. Circumnavigating it, it is possible to visit the three towns that gracefully overlook its shores. Bracciano, the largest town, was the fortress of the prefects of Vico and around the middle of the 15th century feud of the Orsini. The life of the town gravitates around the main square embellished by the Vignola fountain and hosting the mole of the Orsini Odescalchi Castle, a superb example of military architecture and Orsini building, inside which the ancient rooms are preserved with frescoes of different periods, busts of the powerful lords of the castle, as well as a collection of weapons and harnesses. A tour of the five cylindrical towers of the castle allows a splendid view of the lake, the Sabini and Soratte mountains and the towns Trevignano and Anguillara Sabazia.

The latter one overlooks the lake like a charming village, with small houses that seem to chase each other to reach the highest part. For enthusiasts, the Historical Museum of the Military Air Force stands outside the village, in the locality of Vigna di Valle, where at the beginning of the 20th century one of the first Italian airports was built and it was home to a seaplane station until World War II. Trevignano Romano, built in the Middle Ages perhaps on the site of the Etruscan town of Sabatia, preserves an Antiquarium that houses the remains from the Etruscan tombs discovered in the locality of Olivetello. The medieval village is accessed from the door next to the Clock Tower, while inside stands the bulk of the beautiful 16th century church of the Assumption and the church of Saint Catherine, built on the remains of a Roman building, whose arches are still visible. The route of the Via Claudia Braccianese turns West towards Manziana on Mount Calvario. Built in the 16th century as a rural centre to accommodate Tuscan and Umbrian peasants and woodsmen, the village owes its fame to the Natural Monument of Caldara di Manziana, which resembles a Dantean scenario.

The natural monument rises, in fact, on a depression of the Sabatino volcano, that, in memory of its activity, releases a considerable quantity of carbon dioxide that, rising from the depths, causes water and mud to boil at a temperature of 27°C giving rise to small geysers. Not far away the Monterano Regional Natural Reserve protects, with its 1100 hectares of land, a splendid natural paradise, archaeological evidence of the Etruscan civilization and above all, the ruins of the abandoned city of Monterano. The city began to be depopulated at the end of the 18th century because of malaria and was finally abandoned in favour of the modern town of Canale Monterano, following the devastation by the French troops in 1799. The village consists of the scenic remains of a castle, a church and an extraordinary arched aqueduct that are enveloped by the green embrace of ivy, honeysuckle and evergreen foliage of holm oaks: the most beautiful abandoned city of Lazio and, perhaps, of Italy. The road then enters the wildest and most fascinating area: the Tolfa mountains, a hilly massif that does not exceed 630 meters above sea level, covered by a diverse and typical vegetation of the Maremma, with oak woods and cattle pastures of Maremmana cattle.

In 312 B.C. the censor Appius Claudius decided to build a military road to connect Rome to Capua, Benevento, Venosa and Brindisi, a Roman colony from 244 B.C. Its importance, linked to the connection with Southern Italy, made the Romans named it as the regina longarum viarum (queen of long roads). The road exited from Saint Sebastian Gate and continued towards the Alban Hills, surrounded first by mausoleums and tombs of the classical era and then by residential villas, rustic dwellings, Christian catacombs. The route of the Appian Way, despite speculative constructions, the looting of the territory perpetrated for too many years and today’s incessant traffic, is now protected by a natural park, allowing to enjoy all its ancient charm. The territory of the Roman Castles coincides with the area once inhabited by the Latins: the legendary Alba Longa seems to be located between Albano Laziale and Castel Gandolfo. During the Roman Empire it became a holiday resort for the richest Romans; the mild climate, the abundance of water and the ease in reaching them made it a favorite destination, even later, when the Roman nobles built mansions and castles, later transformed into villas and palaces that can still be visited today. Castel Gandolfo, nowadays known as the Pope’s summer residence, had to house the villa of Emperor Domitian (81- 96 A.D.) whose magnificent nymphae, known as Bagni di Diana, is still preserved inside the gardens of the Papal Palaces. It is precisely in the papal complex that the famous architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini left an unmistakable mark, completing the Palazzo dei Papi, designed by Carlo Maderno in 1623. He also built the Liberty Square and the church of Saint Thomas of Villanova. On the opposite side of the lake, Marino was a possession of the Colonna family (who erected their palace and the basilica of Saint Barnabas). Today, the town is known for its link with wine, celebrated by a famous festival and the famous stornello (short song) “na gita a li Castelli”. Not far away, in the modern urban area of Albano Laziale, there are some visible interesting archaeological remains, including those related to the military camps built during the imperial age by Septimius Severus, the Castra Albana. Also worthy of note are the Mausoleum of the Orazi and Curiazi and the Cisternone, a still functioning water tank from the 2nd century A.D. The name of Bernini is closely connected with the Ariccia access square, that was originally only reachable through the narrow streets that wind up to the south, within the medieval settlement. It was in fact originally the “court” or internal courtyard of Chigi Palace, almost a fortress suspended in the nature. The magnificent building overlooking the large open space is faced by the Church of Saitn Mary of the Assumption, which with its central plan and the slightly flattened dome evokes the structure of the Pantheon. From Ariccia, the Appian Way leads to Genzano that, every year, in the month of June, hosts the famous Infiorata (flower) festival during the Corpus Dominicelebration. On the road an immense carpet is laid out, made using as colours the petals of thousands of flowers and plant essences, “depicting” various subjects, mainly sacred ones. The nearby Lake Nemi has a real archaeological appeal. At the end of the Twenties, remains of some Roman ships, built by the emperor Caligula for probable ceremonial functions, were found almost intact in its waters. Unfortunately, the following events, a fire and above all the bombardments of the World War II, destroyed almost completely what the waters of the lake sacred to Diana had kept for two thousand years. Nowadays, the Naval Museum of the homonymous town exposes the remains of those archaeological finds as well as interesting reconstructive models. A town of pre-Roman origin, situated in a panoramic position towards the sea, on the slopes of the Alban Hills, Lanuvio was the seat of a famous shrine dedicated to Juno Sospita in Roman times, whose remains are still visible on the hill of Saint Lawrence. Destroyed by the Roman settlement in 380 A.D., the city was rebuilt by the Benedictine monks with the name of Civitas Lanovina. The town still preserves a stretch of the ancient walls of dark lava stone dominated by the 14th century fortress. Ruins of the Middle Ages can also be found in the sanctuary of the Our Lady of Graces. Completely rebuilt in the 17th century is the Collegiata Maggiore, built in 1240, whose 17th century sculptures are kept in the medieval section of the Civic Museum. Continuing along the Appia road, there lies Velletri, the most important town of the Alban Hills, that owes its fame especially to an excellent wine production. The city, despite having Roman origins, owes its current structure to the municipal period, which dates back to the characteristic Tower of Trivio. The impressive Municipal Palace is the work of Giacomo della Porta and was rebuilt following the bombing of the last war according to the original Vignola design.