What is Velletri known for?

Lazio's serious red appellation since 1972: Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Cesanese grown on volcanic Alban Hills slopes. Childhood home of the future emperor, whose family the Octavii had a street and an altar in ancient Velitrae. Site of the American breakthrough in May 1944 that opened the road to Rome; the town was heavily bombed.

Velletri is a comune in the province of Roma, Lazio region of Italy, about 29 kilometers from Latina.

Lazio · Roma

Velletri

The Castelli Romani town where Augustus grew up, now the largest wine commune in the Alban Hills.

29 km / 18 mi

Nearest hub (Latina)

52,528

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Velletri sitson the southeastern edge of the Alban Hills, the volcanic ring of craters and lakes thirty-five kilometers from Rome that the city calls the Castelli Romani. The Octavii, the paternal family of the emperor Augustus, were from here. Suetonius noted a street in town called Octavian and an altar consecrated by an Octavius. Augustus himself spent his childhood in Velitrae before Rome. The town later became a Volscian stronghold, then a papal possession, then the seat of the Diocese of Velletri-Segni still held by the Dean of the College of Cardinals. The American Fifth Army broke the German Caesar Line here in May 1944. What survives the bombings and the reconstruction is the Torre del Trivio above Piazza Cairoli, the Renaissance Palazzo Comunale, and a wine appellation, Velletri DOC, that has been Lazio's most serious red label since 1972.

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Gallery

6 photos · scroll →

Known for

Torre del Trivio
50-meter Romanesque bell tower from the 14th century, the survivor of the bombings of 1944, the town's defining silhouette.
Palazzo Comunale
Renaissance town hall designed by Giacomo Della Porta, rebuilt after wartime damage, on Piazza Cesare Ottaviano Augusto.
Cattedrale di San Clemente
Cathedral seat of the suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni, held by the Dean of the College of Cardinals.
Museo Civico Archeologico Oreste Nardini
Archaeological museum holding Volscian, Roman and medieval finds from the Alban Hills, including the Velletri sarcophagus copy.
Cantina Sociale di Velletri
Cooperative founded in 1947, one of the largest in Lazio, producing Velletri DOC reds and whites from cooperative members' vineyards.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June brings the Alban Hills at their greenest, vineyards in leaf, and mild evenings on the piazzas. September and October are the wine months: the Festa dell'Uva, one of the oldest grape festivals in Italy, runs in the first week of September. July and August are hot in the lower town and at their best after sunset, when the volcanic slopes hold the breeze. November through March stays open; the Castelli Romani are easy day trips from Rome any month. The Torre del Trivio in winter, with the Alban Hills behind it, is the photograph that survives the seasons.