Italy – Rome Part 3
Italy – Rome Part 3

Day 80 Saturday 4th November 2023 - Rome - Day 5

Today is our last full day in Rome .. and the last full day of our holiday ! It was also a roller coaster of emotions. We woke early because we had booked an e-bike tour of the Appian Way and Aqueduct Park. A 4 hour tour starting at 9:00, but we had to be there 20 mins early to organise ourselves with bike and instructions on how to ride. We got to the nearby Termini metro station at 7:50, bought tickets with the assistance of a very nice gentleman, started down the stairs to the platform, there was a train at the platform, so we ran and jumped on before the doors closed. Two men jumped on after us into a very crowded metro car. We only had to go 3 stops, and as we were getting off, a lady said my backpack was open ... I checked and sure enough my wallet had been stolen !!! Very angry, very upset and 190euros and 50AUD less then I started with, along with my driver's licence, seniors card and medicare card. Thankfully no credit cards were in the wallet. We think the guy that helped us at the ticket machine saw where I put my wallet, told the two guys who jumped in after us on the metro, they knew exactly where to look as no other zips were open. Anyway, nobody hurt, and things could all be replaced.

Made our way to the meeting point of our e-bike tour to find we were the only 2 booked in....a personalised tour ! Fredrico was our guide and it turned out to be a fantastic tour, learning much more about the history of Rome and its establishment making it one of the largest cities in the world, serviced by roads and water supply. Apparently the current water suppy to Rome is only 25% of the volume that was being supplied during the Imperial Age, which in turn allowed Rome to grow in population. Even today, aqueducts (3 of the original 13) still supply water to the city, much of it flowing through nasoni, nose shaped water fountains (2,400 of them) scattered around the city, and have a continous flow of water coming out of them. This water is pottable !

Our ebike tour  - from the organiser's page !

Highlights

  • When people say that all roads lead to Rome they refer to Via Appia Antica, the 1st highway ever. Since 312 BC it's there to remind us of past glory.
  • The Aqueducts Park is a living testimony of Rome's complex water system, which ensured greater amounts 2000 years ago than those we achieve today.
  • The Caffarella Valley is a chunk of countryside, where you can find horses, sheep, goats and pigs at just 3 km from the city center and the Coliseum!

Full description

When the Italian economic miracle ignited during the '50s, owing to the funds of the Marshall Plan and the creativity of its citizens, a large part of the country's historical, archaeological and environmental heritage became endangered and at risk of extinction, in the name of progress, modernity, and economic growth. In the case of Rome, the greatest threat came from the housing industry that was gulping down the countryside around the city's center at impressive speed. If it were not for the obstinate determination of one man, Antonio Cederna, a great Italian archaeologist, urbanist, journalist, and politician, who made it his life's mission to preserve it from uncontrolled building speculation and waged a personal war on the potent housing industry of his time, the Appia Antica, the first highway ever to be built, would be no more. Thanks to this great man, to whom the Appia Antica Archaeological Park is dedicated, we can still admire the unique beauty and the great treasures of Europe's first highway, which led from Rome to Brindisi and whose construction began in 312 BC by the Roman Censor Appius Claudius Caecus. Our electric bike tour will begin from our company's venue, situated in front of the Circus Maximus, the largest Stadium ever to be built, that could hold 300.000 spectators for the chariot races held in it. On the way to the Ancient Appian, we'll visit more "modern" places, like the Garden of Oranges and the Cavalieri di Malta Square, view the majestic Caracalla Baths, a suitable introduction to the Roman water system. Along the way, we'll ride past incredible places such as the Church of Quo Vadis, the Catacombs of Saint Callistus, the Residence of Maxentius, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, the Tumulus of the Curiazi, and Villa Dei Quintili, all of which are concentrated in the first few miles of Via Appia Antica and which will be explained by our knowledgeable tour guides. Our cross-country archaeological e-bike ride will then proceed to the breathtaking scenery of the ancient Roman Aqueducts, which supplied the city with an unsurpassed amount of water, and then, following the Almone River down into the Caffarella Valley, literally at a stone's throw from the city's center.

Following our e-bike tour we walked, of course, a different route back toward Termini Railway Station to report the robbery to the Station Police. When we arrived, there were already other people waiting outside with similar robberies to report. Some had been waiting for over 2 hours to actually get in and see the police. We had a 90 minute wait and took around 60 minutes to complete our report. By this time it was 19:10, we needed to get back the apartment and repack our bags ready to start the long trip home.

Set the alarm for 6:30 next morning, to catch the airport express train at 7:37 for a 10:50 flight to Singapore.

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