Cascata dell’Aniene

Cascata dell’Aniene is an impressive waterfall near Tivoli (not far from Rome) in the middle of Italy. The river Aniene drops down over 160 meter with an average volume of 35m3/sec, which makes this a great waterfall to see. A must to visit. Cascata dell’Aniene is visible from the roadside in Palombarese.

From Rome drive to Tivoli on road SR5. In Tivoli follow the brown signs “Villa Gregoriana”. Park your somewhere near the north side of the city centre. A main park entrance is located along road SR5 at gps 41.965339, 12.801681. This is also quite near the waterfall Cascata dell’Aniene.

Cascata dell’Aniene is fed by the river Aniene (in Latin Anio, formerly called Teverone) is a 99 kilometer river in the region Lazio. It originates in the mountains at Trevi nel Lazio and flows westward past Subiaco, Vicovaro, and Tivoli into the Tiber. In antiquity, most of the Roman aqueducts had their sources either at the Aniene or the streams flowing into it.

The main attraction near the waterfall is villa Gregoriana itself. Villa Gregoriana is a park/garden located at the feet of the city’s ancient acropolis was commissioned by Pope Gregory XVI in 1835 to rebuild the bed of the Aniene River, which had been damaged by the flood of 1826. Since ancient times, the river formed a wide curve around the acropolis, after which it fell from a limestone’s spur into the plain below. The river formed originally four falls, now reduced to two. The site had a strategical importance since it commanded the transumanza path from Abruzzo along the path which later become the Via Valeria. The Romans had already built here hydraulic manufacts, 12 of which are known by findings today.

The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli is on the world heritage list of Unesco.

The park of villa Gregoriana is open from Tuesday to Sunday and you have to pay an entrance admission of €6 (in 2019). More information can be found on the official webpage.