Appia Road Segment 04

From ARICCIA (Aricia) to CAGNOLETTO Mount (Sublanuvio)

 

Ancient Aricia was located in the valley of an ancient dried-up lake, the bottom of a volcanic crater, while present-day Ariccia was its Acropolis.

There are few visible remains of ancient Aricia, such as the southern gate known as the Bastio del Diavolo, now used as a car roundabout, but this valley hides one of the most important engineering works of the Appian road.

It is the 230-metre long viaduct of Ariccia, up to 13 metres high, that allows the road to cross the southern rim of the ancient crater. Recently, the road, still paved, has been covered with asphalt for the benefit of local traffic and one can no longer recognise the originality and dimension  of the work.

Only by taking a small road to the right and entering a private field can we still see this work from 312 BC still intact and used for the same purpose!

After the viaduct we enter Genzano, where the “Villa degli Antonini” has recently been brought to light.

At the exit of Genzano, before the locality of  Cagnoletto mounth, a probable statio Sublanuvio, we can see, in a widening of the present road, the milestone of the 19th (19) mile dedicated to the Emperor Nerva (96-98 AD).

This is where the first 24-kilometre straight and milestone road from Rome ends.