This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Caffarella Park in Rome: countryside in the city, nymphaeums and secret caves
This really is a piece of countryside, right inside the city of Rome. Caffarella Park is a vast green area within the Appia Antica Park, crossed by the small Almone river. It is a place where history surfaces everywhere, among ancient ruins and dirt paths. Here you will find the famous Nymphaeum of Egeria and the traces of a powerful Roman family from two thousand years ago.
The great estate of an ancient billionaire
Much of this area was the Pagus Triopius, the enormous estate of the wealthy and influential Herodes Atticus. In the 2nd century AD, he transformed the valley into a private monument to his wife, Annia Regilla. The so-called "Temple of the God Rediculus", which you encounter while walking in the park is in fact her tomb. The church of Sant'Urbano (St Urban) that appears on a small hill was also a temple belonging to his villa.
From a medieval farmhouse to mushroom cellars
The modern name comes from the Casale della Vaccareccia, the large estate with a medieval tower in the heart of the park, once owned by the Caffarelli family. But the real secret lies underground. Kilometres of ancient Roman quarries lie underneath, for the extraction of pozzolana, used to build the city. Today these cavities house champignon mushroom farms. It is indeed a hidden world.
The park is a public area, and is always open.
