The Romans called it the queen of roads, and in 2024 UNESCO agreed, listing the Via Appia from Rome to Brindisi as a World Heritage site. Begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, it was the first great Roman road, built to move armies south toward Campania and later extended to the port of Brindisi, the gateway to Greece and the East.
The Alban Hills are the Castelli Romani, a cluster of hill towns around two volcanic lakes, Albano and Nemi, where Roman aristocrats, popes and later Roman families came to escape the summer heat. Genzano is famous for its bread and for the Infiorata, when the main street is carpeted with flower petal pictures each June. Ariccia is the home of porchetta, roast pork with herbs, sold in roadside stands, and Nemi is known for wild strawberries. Lanuvio, an ancient town in its own right, has a long history of wine-making.
The riding in the Castelli Romani is a mix of pleasure and frustration. The roads wind through the hills, around the lakes and between the towns, with fine views over the Roman Campagna and toward the sea. But traffic is heavy, especially at weekends, when Romans pour out of the city for lunch, and the roads are narrow, the surfaces patched and the parking chaotic. Ride early in the morning or on a weekday for the best experience.
Fuel, food and coffee are easy to find in every town, and Velletri, a town of nearly fifty thousand, has every service. The local wine is the Castelli Romani white, light and fresh, and the fraschette, informal taverns selling wine, porchetta, bread and cheese, are a local institution.
October has the edge over every other month, with soft light and harvest still in the air. The grape harvest in October brings festivals to many towns. Somewhere on the slopes below Lanuvio the old line is still traceable, and finding it is half the fun. Then do the sensible Roman thing and stop for porchetta and a glass of white in the shade before riding on.