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Nepi: The Faliscan City of Springs, Rock-Cut Necropolises and Aqueducts
Nepi is a town in the upper Tuscia region of Viterbo, standing at an altitude of 227 metres on a tuff plateau bordered by two gorges carved by the Nova and Puzzolo streams. The territory has been inhabited since the Iron Age by the Faliscans, an Italic people related to the Latins. In the surrounding area there are rock-cut necropolises with chamber tombs, sunken roads carved into the rock and the remains of walls in squared blocks. Nepi has always been a city of water: abundant springs flow at the base of the plateau, and have supplied aqueducts since Roman times.
The Aqueduct and the Springs
The Roman Aqueduct from the 1st century AD carried water from Nepi to Rome, along a route in excess of 50 km. The remains of arches are visible in the countryside surrounding the city. In the 16th century Antonio da Sangallo the Younger built a new aqueduct to supply the town, with monumental arches that are still standing along Via degli Acquedotti. The Fonti Nuove, the city's historic springs, flow all year round, and have been tapped multiple times over the centuries.
The Historic Centre
The town’s medieval layout has been largely preserved, with the Romanesque Cathedral from the 11th century, rebuilt in the 16th century after a fire, and the Borgia Fortress, commissioned by Rodrigo Borgia in 1479 when he was lord of Nepi. The fortress dominates the city with its cylindrical towers and corner bastions. Nepi is also known for Acqua di Nepi, bottled from local springs and marketed since 1893. The town is 45 km from Rome, on the Via Cassia.
