2. History
III century A.C.: Attilio Regolo’s family owned part of Caffarella.
II century A.D.: The park became property of Annia Regilla’s
family. After that the park was acquired by her husband Erode
Attico.
III century A.D. : In the park Massenzio built a palace, a circus
and the grave of his son Romolus.
Republican period/Roman Empire : the valley was full of big
villas, small temples and graves, but we don’t have any information
about them.
V century A.D. . : When the Roman Empire collapsed, Caffarella
was slowly abandoned; all the area became part of acclesiastic
possessions.
Middle Age : the feudalism and the consequent fortification of
Roman country made Caffarella really important for military reasons.
Many watchtowers were built and the valley was used as a quarry.
3. 16th century: The Caffarelli, the new
owners, built a farm from the complex of
fortification and watchtowers, the Vaccareccia
house .
1695: the land was acquired by the Pallavicini
and then by the Torlonia in 1816. After that
the park became the property of the Gerini.
Napoleonic period: the Napoleonic prefect
Camille De Tournon, planned an archaeological
park in the complex of the Appian Way, but
after Napoleon’s death the project was Camille de Tournon
abandoned.
Torlonia’s family coat
of arms
4. Laws
1950: Caffarella was placed under safeguard in accordance with Law
1497/39 for the protection of natural beauty. A joint committee of technical
experts and politicians was mandated to draw up A Landscape Territorial
Plan, a charter that would indicate to municipalities and Superintendent
whether and how to build in an area so protected. This commitee wanted to
preserve the area but, after the reactions of l the landowners, it was
dissolved.
1960: a new committee was formed that published a new Landscape Plan
which allowed the construction of 4 million cubic metres in the park.
1962: In the plan of Rome took back the proposal “Gerini”: he sponsored a
Landscape Territorial Plan which was to offer the municipality the whole
central area of the park ( which is characterized by marshes, dumps, the
reed beds) and obtaining in exchange the permission to build houses on the
hilly sides. This protest caused dissent in the cultural world and a petition
was presented to preserve the whole area as a public park.
1965: the new Plan was approved by the Ministry of Public Works with
2,500 acres of protected public green along the Appian Way.
5. 1984: all protection laws and constraints had expired; the land,
coming under the provisions of the infamous Plan of 1962. In
addition the park was subject to a total degradation, since the
municipality had neither the funds nor the will to make a new
expropriation. In this very difficult context a group of young people
decided that it was necessary to take action and created the
Committee for the Park of Caffarella.
1986: areas subject to greater decay are cleaned up and drained.
1996: 10 billion euro were allocated for assistance, equipment and
renovation of the Park within the funds allocated for the Great
Jubilee of 2000.
1997: beginning of procedures for the acquisition of the first 70
hectares of Caffarella and its environmental remediation and the
restoration of monuments with funding from the Jubilee of 2000.
2005: new expropriation of 40 hectares as well as the farmhouses,
2010: the City releases the smaller houses expropriated and
occupied illegally for the purpose of activity and information as
required by the Plan for the Use of Caffarella.
