Villa Gregoriana

Having done a little research yesterday and discovered that a certain amount of engineering work has been undertaken over the centuries to divert the river Aniene from its original, natural course, it didn't take a lot of Google satellite viewing to find the location of the most significant diversion (which has created the Grand Cascade on yesterday's left).

So first thing I took a wander in that direction and took some images of enormous sluice gates. I continued wandering upstream, discovered a lovely pedestrian bridge across the river, wandered back downstream having crossed the bridge, saw some otters at play and then began my scheduled day in earnest.

I visited Villa Gregoriana, which is not a villa at all, but a park containing so many waterfalls I was in Heaven. If you follow the path all the way down as far as it goes and then back up the other side, looking at everything as you go, it takes the average visitor about 90 minutes to reach the end and leave the park at the Temples of Sibilla and Vesta. But once I had got that far I stopped for a coffee, chatted to a schoolboy with his arm in a plaster-cast and took an alternative route back to my entry-point. Three hours of utter joy!

Here are a couple of bits of descriptive text along the route;

“The rock face above the Pelago had a large number of cascades that were once fed by the Aniene and the various underground canals – the Pelago, the Stipa and the Salnitriere. In Roman times, following catastrophic flooding, a hydraulic system was installed to alleviate the flow of the river; this system can still be made out in the imposing remains of tunnels beneath the area of the Hotel delle Sirene. These tunnels fed the aqueducts and mills and then spread out along the rock face, creating a picturesque, romantic landscape that was praised and depicted over the centuries by poets and landscape artists from all over Europe”

“The deviation of the Aniene into the Gregorian Tunnels (1832 – 1835) protected the city against the river's violent flood waters. The immense hydraulic engineering project, commissioned by Pope Gregory XVI, drew admiration from all over Europe due to the boldness of the designs drawn up by the engineer Clemente Folchi; he created the two parallel underground tunnels, 280 metres long, dug out of Monte Catillo, which led the water to the new great waterfall. At the same time, work began on the reorganisation of the area, turning it into a romantic, picturesque public garden.”

And this is what I have to say;
“If you absolutely must monopolise the bench right at the foot of the prettiest waterfall to snog your girlfriend continuously for 45 minutes then please have the courtesy not to wear an eye-popping red tee-shirt”

And later, whilst people-watching in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi it dawned on me that women use colour to emphasise their mouths whereas men use sound.