Grand Villas and Mausoleums
On this guided tour along one of the oldest roads of Rome, we’ll visit several archaeological gems, set amid the idyllic countryside and ornamented with remnants of thermal baths, mosaic tile, and ancient artworks.
Explore the well-preserved, The Maxentius Villa, the remnants of the enormous extra-urban residence that Emperor Maxentius ordered featuring a palace, a circus, and a dynastic mausoleum that has stood the test of time. Next, we will travel to The Mausoleum of Romulus, part of a complex of buildings built by Emperor Maxentius at the beginning of the 4th century and dedicated to his son Romulus, who died prematurely in AD 309.
We continue to The Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, a masterpiece of elegance and grandeur, built during the reign of Emperor Augustus to honor the daughter of a Roman Consul. Finish your exploration at Capo di Bove. Formerly a farm with vineyards, the grounds were later excavated to uncover an ancient treasure, the remains of a Roman villa owned in the 2nd century by Herodes Atticus and his wife Annia Regilla.
This is the ancient highway where people returned as you will see from the wagon wheel tracks that remain in the ancient stones today. Imagine the legions returning from Naples as a caravan lasting for days passes by.
