The Veio Park – Rome

 

The Veio Park. Rome – 13 April 2021

The Veio Park is a green area that rises in the heart of the Farnese Island, along the ancient routes inhabited by Etruscans and Romans.

It is incredible how a few steps from the ancient city village, you quickly immerse yourself in history and nature, among waterfalls, rivers, ancient mills, and Etruscan ruins mixed with the earth and the roots of trees.

A path that rises and falls between dense vegetation and extensive green plains which seem to support the blue of the sky.

A corner of paradise where time has stopped.

In search of fragments of history that are now part of the earth you walk on and tree roots.

Roots... of our roots...

From Rome-Roma.net:

The Veio Park extends from the north of the outskirts of Rome for over 20 km to the north and about 10 km from east to west, between the Via Cassia (Via Francigena) and the Via Flaminia, two great Roman roads dating back to antiquity.
Veio was an important Etruscan city, located just 20 km from the Capitol of Rome. Flourishing in the seventh and sixth centuries BC, it was conquered by Rome in 396 BC, marking the beginning of a Roman expansion into the Etruscan territory.
This region has therefore seen the development of numerous peoples there: Etruscans and Faliscans, then Romans, who have left traces of antiquity and the Middle Ages.
The park covers nine municipalities and is crossed by almost 100 km of trails, including the Via Francigena.
Its relief is generally gentle and hilly, occupied by fields and pastures, crossed by wooded ravines, where it is possible to discover streams and waterfalls along the paths, sometimes with Etruscan necropolis carved into the rock.
This landscape was shaped by the Sabatino volcano, active almost 600,000 years ago, of which a crater gave Lake Bracciano, to the northwest, beyond the park. The rock, the tuff, has been carved out by water over time, creating deep gorges along which lush vegetation has developed. Nearly 730 floral species have been identified, some of which are rare, such as some orchids. Among the rich fauna, in particular in the Cremera Valley lives an amphibian present only in Italy, the spectacled salamander.
The remains of the ancient Etruscan city of Veio are located near the village of Isola Farnese on a plateau between two rivers.
It was the southernmost city of Etruria, therefore the closest to Rome, whose influence extended from the Tiber to Lake Bracciano. The conflict with Rome developed for the control of trade on the Tiber and on the salt pans, ending after a legendary siege of the city and the victory of Rome by general Furio Camillo, in 396 BC. Having become a Roman colony, the city was gradually abandoned.
The remains of the city are rather inconspicuous, with traces of the mighty enclosure that was more than 2 meters thick, including several gates, the scattered remains of a forum, temples and streets paved by the Romans, and the citadel (Piazza d’armi) located at the confluence of rivers.

https://parcodiveio.it/ 

https://www.rome-roma.net/it/parco-di-veio/

Italian version