Sites and Museums with Catacomb-Related Material

The Regional Park of the Appia Antica and Valle della Caffarella

In very recent years, the Appian Way and Caffarella Valley in Rome have been transformed into vast public parks where archaeology and nature create one of the most classic of Roman panoramas – the ruins emerging from the vines and hillsides. One still comes across underground caverns and ancient and medieval walls which look as if they had been copied for a Piranesi print. The volcanic creases in the earth show deep holes where pozzolana has been quarried since Roman times, and basalt paving stones in the middle of a field or fragments of pottery and marble emerging from rubble foundations indicate an area rich in settlement history. Several new studies and restoration projects have greatly increased our knowledge of the area’s history and actual state, but the Appian Way had fortunately attracted the attention of antiquarians and early conservationists since the sixteenth century. The bibliography page on the International Catacomb Society website lists books on the Appia/Caffarella parks; the other websites indicated below can provide more information about the area.

The most immediate changes to create a visitor-friendly itinerary in the "parco-passeggiata archeologica" include a ban on traffic on the Appian Way on Sundays until sunset; a new bus line from the Piramide subway station (#760 from Piazzale dei Partigiani) to the Church and catacombs of San Sebastiano, and paved bike paths winding through the Caffarella valley from the via Latina to the newly-restored Grotto of Egeria and Church of San Urbano near the via Appia Pignatelli.

An even more recent initiative has been to institute an "Archeobus", a special tourist bus run by Rome’s Transportation agency which leaves on the hour from Piazza Venezia to reach the major sites on the Appian Way down to the newly-reopened Villa dei Quintilii. The ticket (L. 15,000) is good for the entire day, allowing one to explore the many sites (catacombs, Circus of Maxentius, tomb of Caecilia Metella, etc.) at one’s leisure.

Free maps of the area translated into several languages are available from the information kiosks around the city (at Termini, via Nazionale, Santa Maria Maggiore, via del Corso and many other locations), and many guidebooks, including those on specific sites like the Villa dei Quintilii and Tomb of Caecilia Metella published by Electa, are available for purchase at the ticket booths or at the Visitors’ Center for the Parco dell’ Appia Antica (via Appia Antica #42).

There are also numerous opportunities to participate in guided tours of the area, which can offer a translation into English of the visit. The Committee for the Caffarella Valley Park (www.romacivica.net/tarcaf/home.htm) sponsors guided tours of the area on many Sundays of the year, and information about other tours, bike rentals, courses, didactic activities for children (and special openings of sites in the area) can be obtained from the via Appia Antica Visitors Center or the website www.parco.appia.antica.org.

Special tips: The bus routes mentioned above are still not very frequent. For those willing to explore these areas but also those more wild (in a modern, inner-city sense), bus #660 from the subway stop Arco di Travertino provides a ten minute ride to the bar at the corner of the via Appia Antica and via di Caecilia Metella – a good starting point for exploring the archaeological sites and rest of the Appian Way to the Casal Rotondo (a cylindrical mausoleum even larger than that of Caecilia Metella). There is also no need to retrace your steps on the Appia once you reach the seventh mile marker: there are bus stops along the via di Torricola – which becomes the via di Erode Attico and via Appia Nuova (#665) which return you to the city.

The Caffarella Valley can be reached by taking the buses bound for the Appia Antica (#s 218, 760 or 660) or from the subway stop Furio Camillo (Line A) and via Cesare Baronio.