Parco della Caffarella (the natural reserve in the Appio-Latino quarter, the 183-hectare protected green area in the Caffarella valley, bounded by Via Appia Antica to the east, Via Latina to the west, Viale Appio Claudio to the north, and the Raccordo Anulare to the south, 5km from the Colosseum): the most complete single surviving example of the Roman Campagna landscape within the municipal boundary of Rome, the specific combination of the ancient monuments (the Roman tomb structures, the temples, and the aqueduct arches), the sheep and cattle grazing (the active agricultural use of the Caffarella valley floor that the Caffarella park managers have maintained as a working farm within the nature reserve), and the specific rolling valley topography (the tufo stream valley carved by the Almone torrent) that the ancient Roman writers used as the canonical description of the Roman countryside.
The Roman literary connection: the Caffarella valley (in antiquity the Almone valley, named for the Almone stream that flows through it) appears in Juvenal's Satires (the specific passage describing the suburban villa and the stream-side meditation that the Roman literary tradition associated with the area), in Ovid's Fasti (the spring festival of the Magna Mater whose ritual washing of the Cybele statue in the Almone stream is documented in the Fasti), and in the specific medieval tradition (the Egeria nymph, the water nymph whose spring the Roman king Numa Pompilius used for his night-time law consultations, identified with the Caffarella valley by the medieval tradition that gave the valley's nymphaeum the specific Egeria designation).
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Parco della Caffarella: Ancient Monuments and Park Walk
The Ancient Monuments
Caffarella ancient monument circuit (the specific archaeological structures within the park perimeter, freely accessible during park hours (dawn to dusk, free admission)): the Ninfa Egeria nymphaeum (the 2nd-century AD nymphaeum in the Caffarella valley, the specific grotto-and-basin structure of the imperial period, the archaeological site that the medieval Egeria legend transformed into the nymph's spring, currently surrounded by an iron fence for archaeological protection but visible from the adjacent path): the Temple of the Deus Rediculus (the circular 2nd-century AD temple, the specific small circular temple whose dedication to the god of safe return (the deity who accompanied travelers back from dangerous journeys, the specific Roman religious tradition of the traveler's vow to the Deus Rediculus on departure and the fulfillment offering on safe return) is unique in Roman religious archaeology): the tomb of Annia Regilla (the Herodes Atticus funerary monument, the Greek-style tomb of the wife of the most famous non-Roman citizen of the Antonine period): all three monuments visible from the park path without admission or guided tour.
Parco Della Caffarella: tours & tickets
Compare guided tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips for Parco Della Caffarella.
See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Park Walk and Sheep
Caffarella park walk (the complete circuit of the Caffarella valley, approximately 5km, 2-2.5 hours at a browsing pace, no elevation gain, the flat Almone valley floor): the specific Caffarella walk experience (the archaeological monuments interspersed with the active sheep and cattle grazing (the Caffarella cooperative farm maintains approximately 200 sheep on the valley floor, producing the specific Roman countryside visual of animals grazing between ancient ruins that the 19th-century Grand Tour painters sought and that the Caffarella preserves as the only surviving example within Rome municipal territory)).
Q&A: Parco della Caffarella
How does Parco della Caffarella relate to Via Appia Antica?
Parco della Caffarella and Via Appia Antica are adjacent parks: the Caffarella valley is immediately west of Via Appia Antica (the ancient Roman road with its tomb monuments, see Via Appia guide for the full description), and the two parks are connected by the pedestrian underpass below Viale Appio Claudio. The complete Via Appia-Caffarella walking day: enter Via Appia Antica at the Porta San Sebastiano (see the Porta San Sebastiano guide), walk the first 4km of the Appia to the Cecilia Metella tomb, cut west through the Caffarella park, and return to the Appia at the Parco degli Scipioni entrance, the 8km circuit covers the primary monuments of both parks in approximately 4 hours and is entirely free.
Internal Links
- Appia Antica: Da Porta San Sebastiano alla Caffarella
- Il Cammino Appio: Via Appia e Caffarella
- Fotografare la Caffarella: Pecore tra i Ruderi
- Caffarella in Primavera: Le Orchidee della Valle
- Parco della Caffarella in Autunno: La Campagna
- Roma con Bambini: Il Parco della Caffarella
- La Ninfa Egeria: La Valle dell'Almone
