Duration: 2.5 hours
Sepulchre of Priscilla, Church ofSan Sebastiano, Villa di Massenzio, Tomb of Cecilia Metella, Villa Capo di Bove (the bicycle ride ends at the 5th mile)
Rome is the capital of the world! This is the place where the history of the whole world comes together, and I count on being born a second time, on being truly risen, the day I set foot in Rome. Her beauties have gradually raised me up to their level.
Regarded since ancient times as the “Queen of all the roads”, the Via Appia Antica was built by the censor, Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 A.D., and took soldiers, carriages, goods and pilgrims into the regions south of Rome. A walk along the Appian Way, travelled by many thousands of people, will prove to be a very special experience in your life, providing the opportunity to visit one of the world’s most unusual archaeological and nature parks. You can see ancient Roman tombs (the Tomb of Caecilia Metella from the 1st century B.C. and the Tomb of Priscilla from the 1st century A.D.); the Circus and private Villa of the Emperor Massenzius (306-321 A.D.); the Caetani Palace (1300 A.D.); and the private baths of the philosopher, Herodes Atticus (Villa Capo di Bove, 2nd century A.D.). You can also walk right above the Christian catacombs, and visit the Church of San Sebastiano fuori le Mura (St. Sebastian outside the Walls), with its famous Chapel of the Relics containing the footprints of Christ impressed on a marble slab (related to the episode “Domine Quo Vadis?”). Last but not least, you can genuinely place your feet on part of the history of Rome by walking along some well-preserved sections of the original Roman paving; the huge slabs still furrowed by the wheels of the ancient carriages which travelled along the Appian Way.
This evocative journey back in time, which inspired many poets, artists and writers, is sure to impress your mind and spirit with its complete exposure to an ancient past.