Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Walk though the remains of the Claudio, Marcio and Felice Aqueducts
I’ve seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light.
In the Tuscolano district of Rome, you can still see the majestic remains of some of the greatest aqueducts of the ancient world. Thanks to these Roman systems, the city was amply supplied with public and private water every day. Dozens of baths, thousands of fountains and private houses, the amphitheatres where the famous naval battles were re-enacted: all were miraculously supplied by these extraordinary arched structures carrying pure drinking water to the city from many miles away.
During this tour, we will walk beneath the arches of the Felice aqueduct (built by Pope Felice Peretti in the 16th century), which mimicked the ancient design. We will also visit the Aqua Claudia (the grandest aqueduct ever constructed) and an even older structure known as the Aqua Marcia. The Campagna Romana (Roman countryside), still a mainly agricultural area, forms a natural backdrop to these imposing structures built from blocks of tuff. This is a part of Rome little visited by mass tourism, but much celebrated in 18th century prints and drawings. It was also the location chosen by the director Paolo Sorrentino for some of the scenes in his Oscar-winning film, La Grande Bellezza.