The amphitheatre
First century AD, cut into the natural bowl of the hillside. Theatre still happens here in summer: watching a tragedy inside it, with the Velino behind the tiers, is not the same as watching one in a theatre.
6 km · 7 minutes
Alba Fucens, an entire Roman town
Founded in 303 BC at a thousand metres. Free entry, every day.
Founded 303 a.C.Altitude 1.000 mEntry Free
Rome founded it as a Latin colony to keep the Aequi and the Marsi in check, on a plateau ringed by three kilometres of polygonal walls. People lived here into the sixth century. Then the 1915 earthquake buried what was left, and excavation began in 1949.
- Distance
- 5,9 km · 7 min
- Access
- Free, every day
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- With children
- Yes, almost all flat
- On foot from the trail
- 8,5 km
What you see
Four things not to miss
The Via del Miliario
The paving is the original and the cart ruts are still visible. This was the main street: the macellum, the covered market, on one side; the baths and the basilica on the other.
San Pietro in Albe
The Romanesque church rests on the podium of the temple of Apollo and reuses its columns. Inside, a thirteenth-century Cosmatesque ambo and iconostasis. The 1915 earthquake levelled it; it was rebuilt stone by stone.
The hamlet of Albe
Above the excavations sit the small medieval hamlet and the ruins of the Orsini castle. From up there the whole Fucino plain opens out and you see why Rome chose this plateau.
Questions
Before you go
Is there an entrance fee?
No. The archaeological area is free every day of the year. Summer performances in the amphitheatre are ticketed separately.
How long does it take?
Two unhurried hours for the excavations, three if you also climb to San Pietro and the hamlet. It is almost all flat, so it works with children.
How do I get there from Casa Jolie?
Six kilometres of mountain road, 7 minutes, parking at the site entrance. On foot it is 8.5 km along the Cammino dei Briganti, with 350 m of ascent.
What should I bring?
Closed shoes: you walk on ancient, uneven stone. And a layer, because at a thousand metres the wind blows even in August.
Sleep six kilometres from the excavations
A whole house for four, parking at the door.