Always the Castelli Romani they are a destination for trips and outings for the inhabitants of Rome. They are the emblem of that sort of "Sweet life of the poor" immortalized by Lando Fiorini of "Nanní, nanní" ("'na gita a li Castelli"). Among these hills, much less frequented than those embellished by the villages of Castel Gandolfo, Marino, Monte Porzio or Rocca di Papa, there is that of Tusculum, where once stood aancient Latin city. According to legend, it was founded by Telegono, the mythical son of Ulysses and the sorceress Circe.

Refined and wild Tusculum

The Tuscolo Archaeological Cultural Park is a "primitive place of the soul". This is how the anthropologist Fosco Maraini defined it. A place out of time, a bit mysterious, where you can find a Roman theater with a view, in a vaguely wild environment of meadows and woods, dotted and crossed by a millenary road, among centuries-old oaks, brooms and poppies, daisies and native chestnut trees . For centuries they chose it emperors, senators and writers as a summer residence. Among the most famous villas in the area are those of Silla, Tiberio, Lucullo and Cicero, who wrote his Tusculanae Disputationes.

Tusculum - renaissance

The Tuscolo park

Il park delimits and protects the undeveloped hilly area set between Monte Compatri, Monte Porzio Catone and Grottaferrata, near Frascati, city to which it is historically linked (it was practically founded by the defeated Tuscolans). It is located within the Castelli Romani Natural Regional Park.
It is the heart of it the archaeological area of the ancient Latin settlement of Tusculum, with finds from the period of Roman and later domination, as well as Latin. Since the 90s, when the local Mountain Community bought the land from the Aldobrandini family, it has been a destination for family excursions. But since 2019, following a commissioned intervention, usability and usability have improved. From the parking lot you can access a pleasant area equipped area with toilets, bar, playground and braziers for barbecues and picnics. From there, or from the road, walking a few minutes, you reach the main area of ​​the excavations.

Tuscolo - theater

Walking through history

The walk is very pleasant, and the view is worth it. You can walk on the lawn or imagine yourself back in time, walking along suggestive stretches of Roman paving. Passing through the remains of the Forum, you reach the well-preserved theater, now the seat of classical school theater festival called Le Tuscolane. But also of musical performances and other cultural events. It is the emblem of Tusculum par excellence. In the golden age of the city-state, it was home to over 2.000 people. The view ranges from Monte Cavo overlooking Rocca di Papa to the Eternal City. And in good weather, you can clearly see the Tyrrhenian Sea. Of considerable archaeological interest the spa, found at the entrance to the Park thanks to the Tusculum Project of the Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma.

The Tuscolane

The acropolis and trekking

Not to be missed, after a short "climb" up to'acropolis, on the top of the hill, also the monumental suburban sanctuary and the fortress, with the medieval remains of the Palazzo dei Conti di Tuscolo and the Basilica dedicated to the SS. Trinity. This last area is still partly to be excavated. Trekking lovers can reach the park for one of the marked trails starting from Frascati, Grottaferrata, Monte Compatri or Monte Porzio Catone. The managing body also organizes guided tours, themed walks, music or theatricals, conferences and tastings of typical products of the territory. "The sky of Tusculum" is the title of the evenings between archeology and astronomy that take place in the suggestive setting of the dimly lit theater. And once a year, "immersion" in the "Open Excavations" ensures wonders.

Fault of the Dioscuri

Tusculum it arose around 900 BC, in the Iron Age, and quickly became an important commercial center of the Latin League. It lost its autonomy at the hands of the Romans, who defeated the League army in 496 BC. Tarquinio the Superb, the last king of Rome, expelled from the city with the proclamation of the Republic, had been welcomed here by Ottavio Mamilio, dictator of Tusculum as well as his son-in-law. According to the historiography of the time, the Latins had lost due to the Dioscuri, their patron gods who, against all odds, "cheered" for the Romans.
As the Park website explains, Rome and the defeated cities signed a peace treaty which in fact maintained relations of equality with the subjugated cities to guarantee the defense of the borders. Tuscolo still enjoyed considerable commercial activity. Over time it acquired prestige thanks to the patricians who chose it for their villas. (Hence the term holiday). After the fall of the Roman Empire, Tusculum also fell into disgrace. It recovered a certain splendor with the dynasty of the Counts of Tusculum which gave the world various Popes. But it was the antagonism between Guelphs and Ghibellines to decree their death.

Tusculum - the stars of t

Tuscolo and the Barbarossa

The Tuscolans did allies to the imperial troops of Frederick Barbarossa who defeated the papal ones in 1167. After the death of Pope Alexander III (who, as lord of Tusculum, had transferred the papal court to the Tuscan castle), "an opportunity came for the Romans to take revenge on the rival city", writes the website of the Park. “In exchange for the imperial coronation of Henry VI in Rome, the Romans obtained from the emperor the possibility of invading Tusculum. On 17 April 1191 AD the Roman army razed the city to the ground".
Then came the abandonment. Very long. Only in the nineteenth century, "due to the renewed interest in antiquity, did the site become the subject of archaeological investigations". The first excavations were carried out by Luciano Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. Then something did some superintendent of Cultural Heritage ...
And the rest is relatively recent history, with the Mountain Community of Castelli Romani and Prenestini taking charge of recovering the cultural roots of the territory, deeply felt by the castellans who now fully enjoy this sunny mountain, somewhat secluded and with a mysterious air. .

Photo: Fanpage FB Tuscolo Archaeological Cultural Park.

Tusculum, between history, nature, myth and archeology last edit: 2022-05-22T12:30:00+02:00 da Silvano Malini

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