An historic city in the Castelli Romani hills south of Rome, Velletri traces its founding to the tribe of Romulus.

Velletri is an Italian comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40km to the south-east of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy.

HIGHLIGHTS

Velletri was one of the free cities in Lazio during the Middle Ages, governed like a republic by a Great Council. The city was walled for protection and a few of the gates still stand, including the monumental Porta Napoletana and the Porta Romana, which face in the direction of the respective cities that give them their names. The Torre del Trivio is a tall landmark tower at a crossroads in town, and you can see some ancient temples and churches, and fountains fed by old aqueducts that were established during the Roman Empire. The Cathedral of San Clemente is a must see, with its Renaissance style, octagonal cupola and frescoes; it was built over an ancient temple.

Neighbouring communes are Rocca di Papa, Lariano, Cisterna di Latina, Artena, Aprilia, Nemi, Genzano di Roma, and Lanuvio. Its motto is: Est mihi libertas papalis et imperialis (‚Liberty of pope and empire is given to me‘).

Velletri was an ancient city of the Volsci tribe. Legendarily it came into conflict with the Romans during the reign of Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome; then again in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, during the early Roman Republic. Velletri was also the home of the Octavii, the paternal family of the first Roman Emperor Augustus. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the few „free cities“ in Lazio and central Italy. It was the site of two historic battles in 1744 and 1849. During the Second World War, it was at the centre of fierce fighting between the Germans and the allies in 1944 after the Anglo-American landing at Anzio.

Today, Velletri is home to a circuit court and a prison, in addition to several colleges and high schools. It is the terminus of the Rome-Velletri railway, inaugurated by Pius IX in 1863, and is one of the centers the Via Appia Nuova (modern Appian Way) passes through.

Main sights

Churches

The Velletri Cathedral or Cathedral of St Clement was erected in the 4th century over the ruins of a pagan temple. It has three naves and was rebuilt in the current form in 1659–1662. The Renaissance portal is by Traiano da Palestrina (1512). The interior has several frescoes, while the Capitular Museum houses important relics, vessels and paintings including works by Gentile da Fabriano and Antoniazzo Romano.
The Bell tower of Santa Maria in Trivio (Trivium), erected in 1353 in Lombard-Gothic style, in gratitude for the liberation of the city from a plague that devastated it in 1348. Symbol of the city.
Holy Savior church
San Michele Arcangelo church
St Martin of Tours church
Sant’Antonio di Padova church
San Francesco d’Assisi church
San Lorenzo church
Most Holy Peter and Bartholomew church
Santa Chiara church
Santa Teresa church
Sant’Antonio Abate church
San Crispino church
Church of the Chaplet church
San Silvestro church
Madonna della Neve church
Oratorio di Santa Maria del Sangue
Santa Trinita Church

Cathedral of St. Clement

Santa Apollonia church
San Giovanni in Plagis church
San Giovanni Battista church
St Mary of the Garden church
Santa Maria degli Angeli church
Holy Cross on Mount Calvary church
Saint Stephen church
Santa Maria del Carmine church
Regina Pacis church

Public buildings

There are numerous public fountains in Velletri, some of them monumental. They are all served by the city aqueduct, which was built in the 17th century by the engineer Giovanni Fontana. The aqueduct was destroyed during a war in late 1744 and repaired by the engineer Girolamo Romani in 1842-1845. Notable fountains are:The Fontana di Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi

Fontana di Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, was built around 1912;
Fountain of Piazza Benedetto Cairoli, built in 1622

Notable buildings are:

Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini fountain, built in 1612 to a design of the architect Massimiliano Bruni. Its travertine fountain depicts mythological scenes;
The Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall), with a portico entrance, was begun in 1572 by Giacomo della Porta to a design of Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. It wasfinished in 1741 by Filippo Barigioni. It was the seat of the Priors, or ruling authorities, of Velletri and the Great Council. The first stone of the new building, was laid on January 26, 1575. Completed in 1590, and destroyed in 1944, the palace has now been substantially rebuilt true to the original project.
Palazzo Vecchio, begun in 1822 as the seat of the Delegation of Velletri. In 1870 it became the Palazzo della Justizia, the seat of the courts. It was damaged in 1944, and it has been rebuilt following closely the original layout.
Palazzo Toruzzi
Palazzo Borgia
Palazzo Alfonsi
Palazzo Corsini

Fortifications

When Velletri was a Volscian town it was surrounded by massive walls. However, they were razed to the ground in 338 BC as a punishment after the final Roman conquest of the city. The walls were not rebuilt until the Middle Ages.^[30] In the Middle Ages, Velletri was surrounded by mighty castle walls which originally had six gates: Porta Fura, Porta del Pontone, Porta Santa Martina (o Portella), Porta Lucia, Porta Romana, and Porta Napoletana. In the 16th century, the city strengthened the walls by closing certain gates and keeping only three of them: Porta Lucia, Porta Napoletana, and Porta Romana.^[31] They were:

Porta Napoletana, which was built in 1511 by laborers from Lombardy. It has survived virtually unscathed to this day and now houses the local branch of the AIS (Italian Sommelier Association).
Porta Romana was rebuilt in 1573 to a design by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, near the bastions of the town. However, during extension works on the Appian Way, the gate was destroyed and was replaced by the blocco di Porta Romana, a customs post, and then the current Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi.

The War Memorial, designed by Emanuele Cannigia was inaugurated on June 2, 1927 in before King Victor Emmanuel III. It is located in a corner of Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Archaeological sites

The Oreste Nardini Civic Archeological Museum of Velletri, has noteworthy works from protohistoric to the medieval period. The existence of a Roman amphitheatre in Velitrae is attested to by a curve in area adjacent to the Town Hall and an inscription found in the 1565.^[32]

The bronze sheets of Velletri was found within the structure of the Church of the St. Francis in 1784, The finds are kept at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

The site of the Villa degli Ottavi, sub-urban residence of the gens Octavia and Augustus, the only Roman villa it the Velletri area, was identified outside the village of San Cesareo. Carefully excavated, they have found evidence of the existence a 15.05 x 13.20 m three-nave Roman cistern of the republican period. It is unique because it had pointed arches, and a mosaic. The area currently is private property. Another Roman cistern was discovered in 1982 along the ancient route of the Appian Way in Capanna Murata.^[32]

Green areas

The main urban green area is the Giardino Comunale (Municipal Garden) in via Orti Ginnetti. It previously was the Villa Ginnetti and the Ginnetti Allotments (Orti). There are other green areas: the recently restored Gardens of St. Mary, in the suburbs towards Nettuno, which has an ice skating rink, fountains and a bar, and the Muratori Park.

Velletri