Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
APPIA ANTICA TIPS
The
Appia Antica Regional Park Information Point
( 06 513 53 16;
www.parcoappiaantica.it
;
Via Appia Antica 58-60; 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm winter, 9.30am-6.30pm Sat &
Sun, to 5pm winter) sells maps of the park and hires bikes (per hour/day €3/10) and electric bikes (€6/
20). It also runs guided tours in English, Spanish and German - book by email at least two weeks be-
fore your arrival.
»
Sunday is a good day to visit as the road is closed to traffic. On other days, the section from Porta
San Sebastian for about three miles is not pedestrian-friendly.
»
The Appia Antica Card (
Click here
)
gives admission to the Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella, the Terme
di Caracalla and Villa dei Quintili.
»
To get to Via Appia Antica, catch bus 218 from Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, bus 660 from
the Colli Albani stop on metro A, or bus 118 from the Piramide stop on metro B.
»
From Termini, the hop-on, hop-off Archeobus (
Click here
) serves Via Appia Antica, stopping at
points of archaeological interest along the way.
Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella
RUIN
( 06 3996 7700;
www.coopculture.it
;
Via Appia Antica 161; admission incl Terme di Caracalla & Villa
dei Quintili adult/reduced €7/4; 9am-1hr before sunset Tue-Sun; Via Appia Antica)
Dating to the
1st century BC, this great drum of a mausoleum encloses a now roofless burial chamber
built for the daughter of the consul Quintus Metellus Creticus. The walls are made of
travertine and the interior is decorated with a sculpted frieze featuring Gaelic shields, ox
skulls and festoons. In the 14th century it was converted into a fort by the Caetani family,
who used to frighten passing traffic into paying a toll.
Villa dei Quintili
( 06 3996 7700;
www.coopculture.it
; Via Appia Nuova 1092; adult/reduced incl Terme di Caracalla &
Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella €7/4; 9am-1hr before sunset Tue-Sun; Via Appia Nuova)
This vast
2nd-century villa was the luxurious abode of two consuls under the emperor Marcus
Aurelius. Its highlight is the well-preserved baths complex with a pool,
caldarium
(hot
room) and
frigidarium
(cold room).
RUIN
EUR
( EUR Palasport)
This Orwellian quarter of wide boulevards and linear buildings was
built for an international exhibition in 1942 and, although war intervened and the exhibi-
NEIGHBOURHOOD
