Horse Riding Along Appian Way
2 HOURS RIDING APPIAN WAY AND VILLA DEI QUINTILII
around 10km round trip
good riders + athletic beginners
This walk sets out from our stables and follows the ancient Appian Way, lined with Roman monuments on both side of the road and reaches the countryside around where magnificent scenary and landscapes are part of the frame.
Riding into the natural Park in clear days you can also see the St Peter’s Dome! Just beyond the 5th milestone, reaches the magnificent remains of an immense Roman villa built by two wealthy brothers, the Quintilis, in the time of Hadrian. The villa, with its thermal baths, private aqueduct and hippodrome was so fabulous that the emperor of the time, emperor Commodus, was envious and had the Quintili brothers put to death and took the villa for himself!
After exploring the perimeters of the villa on horseback, this itinerary offers various possibilities, including also a detour on horseback from the villa, through the nearby BASALTO quarries on the way home. These quarries, which we jokingly call ” Little Grand Canyon” are actually where, 2000 years ago, the slaves obtained the rocks to cut the cobbles used to pave Appian Way. The deep passageway has also become a refuge for many species of birds and small animals.