Holiday apartment in Frattocchie on the Via Appia Antica

Frattocchie on the ancient Via Appia

Frattocchie lies along the ancient Via Appia and is a district of the municipality of Marino. Roman roads, funerary monuments and historic estates characterize the district’s surviving heritage. These include the so-called Sepolcro con torre near Torre Secchi, an underground road branch in Vicolo del Torraccio and the Tenuta dei Frati Trappisti estate.

Roman traces and Torre Secchi

At the eleventh milestone of the Via Appia Antica, the remains of the so-called Sepolcro con torre, better known as Torre Secchi, are located in the village of Frattocchie. The funerary monument beneath it dates from the early Imperial period. In 1855, a small tower made of brick and tuff was built on this monument and used for geodetic measurements along the Via Appia Antica. The small tower is later in date than the funerary monument on which it was built.

The state-owned section of the Via Appia runs for approximately 12 kilometers from house number 195 to Frattocchie, a district of the municipality of Marino. For planning a walk, the figure of approximately twelve kilometers provides an indication of the scale of the state-owned section; the individual monuments and archaeological remains at Torre Secchi, in Vicolo del Torraccio and at the Trappist estate are nevertheless located in different places.

Archaeology between Vicolo del Torraccio and the Trappist estate

An underground archaeological area with a Roman road branch is located in Vicolo del Torraccio. This branch split from the Via Appia Antica between the eleventh and twelfth milestones. Three burials were discovered alongside the Roman road. They indicate declining use and the gradual abandonment of this route between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

Another section of road was discovered in 2014 during construction work at the McDonald’s site in Frattocchie. It is 45 meters long and was probably a branch of the Via Appia leading to a villa in the area of ancient Bovillae.

At the Tenuta dei Frati Trappisti estate, a monumental entrance portal stands on Via del Sassone. Villa Sirena, also known as Villino Colonna, is located within the estate; it is a country house built around the middle of the 17th century. The Trappist estate also contains a large Roman tomb, topped by a medieval tower with a hexagonal ground plan. A casale in the Marino area was referred to in a 14th-century document as quod dic(itur) Turris Leonardi. A votive chapel from the 19th century was commissioned in 1880 by Princess Maria Barberini. The historic building phases range from the early Imperial period to the 19th century.

Other places in the surrounding area

The wider surroundings of Frattocchie also include Finocchio, Cesano, Cecchina, Cave, Sacrofano, Ciampino, Settecamini and Canterano.

For the overarching travel overview: Rome.