Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 06 3996 7700;
www.coopculture.it
;
Via Appia Nuova 1092; adult/reduced incl Terme di Caracalla & Mausoleo di
Cecilia Metella €7/4; 9am to 1hr before sunset Tue-Sun; Via Appia Nuova)
Set on lush green fields,
this vast 2nd-century villa was the luxurious abode of two brothers who were consuls un-
der the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Alas, the villa's splendour was to be the brothers'
downfall - in a fit of jealousy, the emperor Commodus had them both killed, taking over
the villa for himself.
The highlight is the well-preserved baths complex with a pool,
caldarium
(hot room)
and
frigidarium
(cold room).
ACCESS TO VILLA DEI QUINTILI
The entrance to the Villa dei Quintili on the Appia Antica is only open at weekends from March to September.
Otherwise, you'll need to use the other main entrance on the Via Appia Nuova, most easily accessible via buses
664 and 665.
CATACOMBE DI SAN CALLISTO
CATACOMBS
( 06 513 01 51;
www.catacombe.roma.it
;
Via Appia Antica 110 & 126; adult/reduced €8/5; 9am-noon &
2-5pm, closed Wed mid-Jan-mid-Feb; Via Appia Antica)
These are the largest and busiest of Rome's
catacombs. Founded at the end of the 2nd century and named after Pope Calixtus I, they
became the official cemetery of the newly established Roman Church. In the 20km of tun-
nels explored to date, archaeologists have found the tombs of 500,000 people and seven
popes who were martyred in the 3rd century.
The patron saint of music, St Cecilia, was also buried here, though her body was later
removed to the Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. When her body was exhumed in
1599, more than a thousand years after her death, it was apparently perfectly preserved, as
depicted in Stefano Maderno's softly contoured sculpture, a replica of which is here.
MAUSOLEO DELLE FOSSE ARDEATINE
( 06 513 67 42; Via Ardeatina 174; 8.15am-3.30pm Mon-Fri, to 4.30pm Sat & Sun; Via Appia Antica)
F
This moving mausoleum is dedicated to the victims of Rome's worst WWII atrocity. Bur-
ied here, outside the Ardeatine Caves, are 335 Italians shot by the Nazis on 24 March
1944. Following the massacre, ordered in reprisal for a partisan attack, the Germans used
mines to explode sections of the caves and bury the bodies. After the war, the bodies were
MONUMENT
