Rome Travel: A Bicycle Tour
through Ancient Rome and the Appian Way
I had thoroughly enjoyed my walking tour through
Old Rome and marveled at some of the Eternal City’s
most popular sights: the Vatican, the Piazza Navona,
the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. I had
planned even more sightseeing for today, but this
time on two wheels. I made my way over towards the
Esquiline Hill and arrived at about 1:30 at the
offices of TopBikeRental, from where I was going
to take a guided tour of the Ancient Appian Way.
Ciro in his shop, TopBikeRental
Owner Ciro is a former banker who decided to open
his own bicycle rental company. His company offers
bicycle rentals and guided tours of Rome as well
as bicycle excursions outside of Rome in the regions
of Lazio and Umbria with six night’s accommodations,
breakfast, bicycling equipment, several lunches,dinners
and the necessary train tickets. Entrance admissions
and guided tours are included as well.
Roberto and Ciro from TopBikeRental
After outfitting me with a comfortable bike Ciro
set me up with one of his knowledgeable guides,
Roberto. We were joined by Allen, another Canadian
traveler from Halifax and the three of us were ready
to embark on a biking tour of the Ancient Appian
Way. We got started by cycling uphill to the Colle
Oppio – the Oppian Hill which is crowned by
a park that houses the remains of Nero’s Domus
Aurea. Emperor Nero’s Golden House was a huge
palace said to have been about 25 times the size
of the Colosseum with an artificial lake, gardens
and woods. Much of the Domus Aurea has not been
exacavated yet.
Roberto explains something on the Oppian Hill
Nero ruled Ancient Rom from 54 to 68 AD and was
infamous for his tyrannical style and his extravagance.
He went as far as executing his own mother and stepbrother.
Nero himself committed suicide in 68 AD and subsequent
emperors chose to build over his palace. Emperor
Trajan built the Baths of Trajan, an immense complex
that measured about 330 x 215 metres.
Roman baths always included a tepidarium (warm
water bath), a caldarium (a hot pool with a sauna),
and a frigidarium (cold pools used at the end).
The lifestyle of the ancient Romans was nothing
short of extravagant. Our guide Roberto mentioned
that citizens of ancient Rome used about 1000 litres
of water a day, which compares to about 500 litres
a person today.
The Colosseum - Rome's most iconic sight
As we cycled further down the hill, Rome’s
most iconic sight came into view: the Colosseum,
ancient Rome’s colossal amphitheatre, located
just east of the Roman Forum. Holding 50,000 spectators,
it was the largest such structure ever built in
the Roman Empire and was completed in 80 AD. It
was most famously used for gladiator games, but
also held other public events such as mock sea battles
and battle reenactments. Executions were also popular
events.
The Colosseum is an important destination for wedding
photographers
During medieval times the Colosseum was repurposed
and houses were built inside the giant structure
as well as churches. At one point the building was
even used as a cemetery. During the Renaissance
many of its stones were removed for construction
projects throughout the city. In the late 16th century
Pope Sixtus V even considered to turn the Colosseum
into a wool factory while Pope Benedict XIV declared
the Colosseum a holy site due to the martyrdom of
early Christians. Finally, the substructure of the
building was uncovered in the 1930s during Benito
Mussolini’s rule.
Moi with the bike in front of the Colosseum
Today, after a major restoration in the 1990s,
the Colosseum is one of Rome’s most popular
attractions. Although the building has suffered
extensive damage over the past 2000 years, it is
still an awe-inspiring structure and a true symbol
of Ancient Rome’s power. The Forum Romanum
was the starting point of the Via Appia, also known
as the Appian Way, one of the oldest and most important
roads of Ancient Rome. One contemporary writer referred
to it as the “queen of the long roads”
as it stretched from Rome to Brindisi on the heel
of the Italian boot. In addition to being an important
military road, it became an important trading route,
linking the Capital of Ancient Rome with the Eastern
Mediterranean.
We cycled along in the midst of various amounts
of traffic, but one thing has to be said: traffic
in Rome can be quite hair-raising. But our guide
Roberto was really amazing – he would raise
his hand, communicate visually with the drivers,
and all of a sudden the sea of traffic would part
and we would be able to cross the roads, unharmed.
Once we got past the busy downtown core, the view
opened up into a beautiful park-like setting with
mostly flat terrain. Pine trees and cypresses flank
the ancient roughly hewn cobble-stoned road. Many
portions of the road showed deep longitudinal grooves
which are actually ancient chariot marks.
The ancient cobblestones of the Via Appia
We cycled past ancient monuments such as the Aurelian
Wall and the Porta San Sebastiano, the gate through
which the US Army entered Rome at the end of WWII.
Roberto explained that the Tomb of Cecilia Metella
was erected in 69 BC, but transformed into a fortress
during the Middle Ages. I noticed that heads of
various statues had been cut off and Roberto explained
that they were stolen over the years by noble Roman
families for their private collections.
A bit further we stopped at the Catacombs of San
Callisto, underground burial places for about 500,000
people that were built after 150 AD. Our guide took
us down into a cool dark environment of narrow walkways,
recessed niches, crypts and family tombs decorated
with ancient frescoes from the early third century.
16 popes are buried in the catacombs and many early
Christian martyrs.
Entrance to the Catacombs of San Callisto
No filming or photography was allowed in this area,
but our guide provided us with informative commentary.
In ancient times small oil lamps lit the way. It
was often assumed that early Christians lived here
to avoid persecution, but the air was too humid
and damaging to human lungs. From about 300 AD Christians
were allowed to bury their dead above ground due
to the Edict of Milan, and that’s when the
catacombs were covered over and forgotten until
their rediscovery in 1865.
As we cycled south on the bucolic country lanes
of the Via Appia, I had a chance to get to know
my tour guide Roberto a bit better. In addition
to leading guided bicycle tours he is also an actor
and just came back from a theatre performance in
Bologna. We also talked about the Italian way of
life, which includes significant corruption and
political apathy. Apparently there is a new law
that politicians can request a police escort at
any time and get the right of way wherever they
go.
The serene landscape of the Via Appia
I had already witnessed that yesterday when I saw
a big black limousine being escorted by police vehicles
through the streets of downtown Rome. Immigration
is another complicated issue in Italy where a lot
of illegal immigrants enter into the country from
different parts of Africa. Labour unrest and frequent
strikes are another set of issues that plague the
Italian economy on a regular basis.
Beautiful vistas in Aqueduct Park
At the southern end of our bicycle ride we reached
Aqueduct Park (Parco degli Acquedotti) which derives
its names from several aqueducts that used to transport
water from the Alban Hills on the outskirts of Rome.
It is a very scenic park that is often used by Italian
film production companies due to its proximity to
the Cinecitta movie studies.
Signora Maria from the Azienda Agricola La Caffarella
We turned around and cycled into the Park of the
Caffarella, another large green space at the southern
outskirts of Rome. We stopped at the Azienda Agricola
La Caffarella, an old, quite dilapidated-looking
farm that used to be owned by the powerful Caffarelli
family. Signora Maria, the lady of the house, served
us a large plate of sheep cheese and some home-baked
bread with some locally grown wine. The sheep were
bleating in the background and different groups
of sheep were being taken out to the pasture while
others returned. It was amazing to see such a rural
scene barely 10 kilometers from the heart of downtown
Rome!
Freshly shorn sheep a few kilometres outside of
downtown Rome
Now appropriately strengthened we cycled back to
the city and traffic was quickly getting denser.
We passed the Baths of Caracalla, public baths built
between in the early 3rd century, whose design was
used as the inspiration for a variety of modern
structures, among others New York City’s Penn
Station. Roman art and architecture still has a
pervasive influence on modern Western architecture.
A peek at Santa Maria Maggiore Church
Back past the Colosseum we started riding up the
Esquiline Hill to get back to the offices of TopBikeRental
where we finally arrived at almost 8 pm. Both my
co-traveller Allen and I had had a fantastic time
on this tour and we thanked Roberto for his expert
guidance. I then walked past the impressive church
of Santa Maria Maggiore back to my bed and breakfast,
and turned in after a quick stop for ice cream on
the Piazza Emmanuele II. I needed to catch a good
rest because tomorrow I was going to head out for
another bike ride: the Panoramic Tour of Rome, which
would cover all the major sights inside the city…
