Next Time You’re in Rome: Vicus Caprarius
Ben Gibbs, Director of Student Affairs, Rome Campus
Getting from Due Santi to the heart of Rome can be a stressful, panic-ridden process. It is well documented that Italian roads and road etiquette are different than those in America. Anyone who drives along the Via Appia Nuova, rides a Cotral bus, or braves a taxi ride, for example, feels this difference immediately and indeed profoundly. In a sense, driving Roman roads sums up the extremes of a foreigner’s experience of Rome — the best and the worst, the beauty and the beast, the obvious and the hidden. These extremes encompass, on the one hand, all the honking and hand-gesturing that local drivers make as they aggressively navigate the roads to somewhere unknown. On the other, a mere experience of driving can bring one face to face with the great peace, beauty and hidden treasures to be found in Rome by merely looking beyond the surface of things.
Beyond, under and all around Rome’s modern roads are 2,000-year-old aqueducts, city walls, ancient homes, stadiums and much else. Rome’s extraordinary Parco degli Acquedotti, for example, is located just off the Via Appia and is hard to miss owing to its obvious importance, elegance and historic allure. Looking at it conjures up images of the great Roman Empire of the past as well as the power and impressiveness of Rome’s elaborate ancient water system. It also makes one wonder about the engineering, architecture and infrastructure that supported the political, social, economic, religious and cultural life of ancient Rome itself. Finally, and most obviously, it brings up the question of whether that same water system is still in use after 2,000 years, and if so, what road you need to take to find it.
Fast forward two millennia, and water still plays a significant role in Roman life. Even for the educated traveler, just visit St. Peter’s Square or Piazza Navona on a hot August day, and you will see any number of people contemplating incarceration — the penalty for illegal bathing — for a mere cold dip in one of these piazza’s majestic fountains. For another great fountain of Rome, and one more tempting still for illegal bathing actually, you can make your way to the Trevi Fountain, a place made famous by the film La Dolce Vita and still today Rome’s most famous fountain. Today, you can often hear and smell its waters before you can see the fountain. Millions of gallons of water flow out of the Acqua Vergine Antica aqueduct every day and through the Trevi Fountain. The same aqueduct spills water into Vicus Caprarius, a little-known destination nearby that is worth a visit by every traveler as an example of the hidden and enchanting world of Rome found off the beaten track.
Vicus Caprarius, also known as “the City of Water,” is an Imperial-age archeological site just meters from the Trevi Fountain. Discovered in 1999 during the restoration of a building and cinema in the Trevi district, the site of Vicus Caprarius sits atop a fourth-century Roman house and is rich in water and other treasures. After ducking down a few side streets near the Trevi Fountain, you enter through several unassuming doors and travel down a long hallway before encountering the site.
As with the sound of the Trevi Fountain waters, you can smell the site before you see it. Elevated metal stairs and walkways keep you suspended above the archeological ruins, and you can gaze through the clear water below to the stonework and architecture of centuries past. Beyond the structure and water are several significant archaeological finds on display, including a trove of over 800 coins, the head of Alexander Helios — the last Ptolemaic King of Egypt and son of Marc Antony and Queen Cleopatra — a selection of precious marble decorations, and some African amphorae for transporting oil. These finds and others are encased in small exhibits with descriptions spaced throughout the site. Probably the most evocative trait of this incredibly rich site, however, is to be found in its depths. Viewing the depths of Vicus Caprarius’ ruins relative to the water level takes the eye into the dark unknown. You have to circle several of the major rooms to get a sense for just how high the water is relative to the walls below. Yes, the water is that clear, and the walls are that high!
Even if Vicus Caprarius is not one of Rome’s best-known sites, its impact on the visitor is immense. For one thing, the subterranean world of Rome’s aqueducts, cisterns and deep archaeological past come together here. For another, the site is living testimony to the prowess of ancient Rome’s architects and builders, whose engineering feats, waterproof concrete and much more are still here to tell the tale 2,000 years later. Of course, the huge and masterful Trevi Fountain will always be the dominant tourist attraction within this neighborhood. Still, by visiting Vicus Caprarius, one can begin to conceptualize how water was a foundation upon which Rome grew and indeed how such a thing like the Trevi is at all possible. Vicus Caprarius provides that context — in fact, the site overflows with it.
“The City of Water” is often missed by the thousands of visitors above, but an intentional visit can yield numerous rewards. The Vicus Caprarius is a small site, and the €3 entrance fee is well worth it. Visit and get your engineering, architectural and cultural fix, or pay €5 for a guided tour. In either case, you will escape the crowds of the Trevi district and gaze upon an incredible archeological site.