Remnants of Rome, aqueducts and roads that still lead the way

A few days in the big city and the accumulative effects of being on the road have taken its toll. Our weary muscles cry for help, but we push them on forward, navigating the 40 minute subway ride into the outskirts on the promise of remnant aqueducts. We expect a pile of rocks, a whisper of an arch, maybe even a hint of a wall… which might not seem like sufficient enough reward for our labour, but clearly Jesse & I are both a bit nutty. 

Nonetheless, exiting the subway, we continue our quest through positively ordinary streets, lined with apartment blocks & the occasional everyday Italian resident getting about their day. There’s no big signs guiding our way or vendors touting aqueduct themed items. No, this is a peaceful and seldom-visited suburban walk, a glimpse of everyday life in Rome. 

We make it to the park, where the terrain is almost as flat and plain as a football field making it easy to spot what I suspect is this location’s main attraction. A quaint little wall with many intact arches to wind through. However, despite my eagerness to take a celebratory photo, I am actually mistaken. For what lies deeper in the park, is the real star of the show.

Venturing further, we find a truly ancient structure, battered by time but unwaveringly grand. Rather than describe it as a wall, I am inclined to call it an incredibly tall, thin sheet of rocks, held together by precision cut stone and sorcery. Now, THIS, is an aqueduct. And it just goes on… and on, making for the most unique and underrated walking trail I’ve ever experienced. Not to mention, even in the dead of winter, it’s a balmy 10 degrees celsius and the sky is sporting some rare blue patches!

As we follow the path, we encounter another treasure in an adjacent ditch. Beginning as grass and the occasional stone, the floor of the ditch quickly consolidates into a clearly organised stone road. A Roman road, complete with what we assume are time worn indents from a horse drawn cart. As our feet touch the stone, we conjure the image of hordes of travellers who must have walked this route before us and reverently add our own travels to this road’s untold history.  

Meandering our way back, all our aches seem to have been melted away by the sun and a day of serenity. Can it get any better? Yes. Yes it can. As we peer into an unassuming little pond we spy a turtle on a rock, then another… then another… then another. Oh my god! They are everywhere! Though they are not native, we fall in love with them anyway. It’s a romantic nook, I even spy a young couple straddling a low wall, with knees touching as they face each other, smiling and chatting. A refreshing memory as we say goodbye to this beautiful park. 

Back in central Rome, we decide to visit another historic haven, the non-catholic cemetery where a friendly doorman tells us its story of non-conformists, who were barred from burial within Rome’s city limits. Here we’re guided by cat guardians through an eclectic mix of the most haunting and ethereal grave stones.

To finish the day, around the corner, we visit the Monte Testaccio. An archaeological site that is, unfortunately closed to the public however, on intel from the cemetery doormen we know a vantage point from which we can still sneak a peek. Of all things, the site is actually a Roman commercial dumping ground, an artificial hill composed entirely of broken pottery. Standing on our tippy toes, we can just clear the fence for a closer look at another remnant of Rome and another thread in our unconventionally, understatedly perfect travel tapestry.