Lake Nemi

The Nemi ships were two ships, of different sizes, built under the reign of the Roman emperor Caligula in the 1st century AD on Lake Nemi. Although the purpose of the ships is speculated upon, the larger ship was an elaborate floating palace, which contained quantities of marble, mosaic floors, heating and plumbing, and amenities such as baths. Both ships featured technology thought to have been developed historically later. It has been stated that the emperor was influenced by the lavish lifestyles of the Hellenistic rulers of Syracuse and Ptolemaic Egypt. Recovered from the lake bed in 1929, the ships were destroyed by fire in 1944 during World War II.

The Temple of Diana Nemorensis was an ancient Roman sanctuary erected around 300 BC and dedicated to the goddess Diana. The temple was situated on the northern shore of Lake Nemi, beneath the cliffs of the modern city of Nemi (Latin nemus Aricinum). It was a pilgrimage site on the Italian peninsula. The temple complex covered an area of 45,000 square meters.Historical evidence suggests that worship of Diana at Nemi flourished from at least the 6th century BCE The temple was abandoned at some point in the late Roman Empire period. If still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. Portions of its marbles and decorations were removed. The area of the temple was gradually covered by forest and generally left undisturbed for centuries. Amateur archaeological excavations of the site began in the 1600s.

Nemi is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is 6 kilometres (4 mi) northwest of Velletri and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Rome. The town's name derives from the Latin nemus, or "holy wood". In antiquity the area had no town, but the grove was the site of one of the most famous of Roman cults and temples: the Temple of Diana Nemorensis. In 1514 Marcantonio I Colonna gave to Nemi the "Statuti e Capituli del Castello di Nemi".

The Algidus Mons, known in English as Mount Algidus, is the eastern rim of the dormant Alban Volcano in the Alban Hills, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Rome, Italy. The ridge is traversed by a narrow crevasse called la Cava d'Aglio. It was the site of the ancient Roman Battle of Mount Algidus. The Via Latina, a road that was strategically advantageous in the military history of Rome, leads to Mount Algidus mountain pass. Dionysius of Halicarnassus claimed that a town was founded on the mountain (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, x. 21, xi. 3), but this has not been verified by modern scholarship. Although an extensive fortification lines the Maschio d'Ariano (the hill to the south of the Via Latina), this particular structure was entirely medieval, and therefore did not exist during the time period described by Dionysius. However, some historical topographers have mistakenly included it on maps meant to illustrate Italy during the Western Roman Empire.

The Alban Hills (Italian: Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rome and about 24 km (15 mi) north of Anzio. The 950 m (3,120 ft) high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, but the highest point is Maschio delle Faete approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) to the east of Cavo and 6 m (20 ft) taller. There are subsidiary calderas along the rim of the Alban Hills that contain the lakes Albano and Nemi. The hills are composed of peperino (lapis albanus), a variety of tuff that is useful for construction and provides a mineral-rich substrate for nearby vineyards.

Genzano di Roma is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani, at a distance of 29 kilometres (18 mi) from Rome, in the Alban Hills.

The Battle of Velletri occurred on 12 August 1744 in the War of the Austrian Succession, between Austria and the Kingdom of Naples. After seizing Velletri in a nighttime attack and capturing much of King Charles' royal entourage, the Austrian army joined battle with Charles' army outside the city. The Austrians were rapidly thrown back and retreated north toward Rome with Charles in pursuit.

The Palazzo Chigi of Ariccia was the ducal palace of the Chigi family located in the center of the town of Ariccia, near Rome, Italy. Originally a 15th-century palace of the Savelli family stood at the site, it was rebuilt during 1664 to 1672, in a Baroque style by the Chigi Family. The work was a collaboration between Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his pupil Carlo Fontana. The sober exterior does not reflect the highly decorated interiors. The palace and Parco Chigi were ceded to the Commune in 1988 by the prince Agostino Chigi Albani della Rovere, and now served as a host of exhibitions and events. It hosts the Museo del Barocco Romano encompassed by some of the remaining Chigi family collections. These include the following paintings: Four Seasons by Mario de’ Fiori in collaboration with Carlo Maratti, Bernardino Mei, Giacinto Brandi, Giovanni Maria Morandi, and Filippo Lauri Allegory of the Senses by Pier Francesco Mola Preparatory sketches (cartoons) for mosaics of the cupola of St Peter's Basilica by Cavalier d’Arpino I “feudi Chigi con cani levrieri by Michelangelo Pace also called “il Campidoglio” Finti arazzi commissioned by Cardinal Ottoboni from Domenico Paradisi, Michelangelo Ricciolini and Francesco Borgognone for the Palazzo della Cancelleria Finti arazzi con giochi di putti by Giovanni Battista Magni “il Modanino”; Landscapes by Jos de Momper, Tempestino, and Egidio de Monte Pindar and Pan by Salvator Rosa Blessed Giovanni Chigi in penitence by Giovanni Battista Gaulli called "Il Baciccio" Marine landscape with St Augustine by Jos de Momper and Alessandro Mattia da Farnese. Portrait of Pope Clement IX and Cardinal Sigismondo Chigi by Il Baciccio Portrait of Cardinal Flavio Chigi by Jacob Ferdinand Voet Portrait of Sister Maria Lutugarda by JF Voet Portrait of Sister Flavia Virginia by JF Voet Portrait of Agostino Chigi by JF Voet Portrait of Maria Virginia Borghese by JF Voet Serie delle Belle by Anna Caffarelli Minutoli Portrait of Maria Virginia Borghese by Giovanni Maria Morandi Portrait of Mario Chigi by GM Morandi Portrait of venerable Aurelio Chigi by Francesco Vanni Portrait of Cardinal Fabio Chigi by Carlo Cesi Portrait of Suor Berenice by Francesco Trevisani Works by Loreti, Guttembrun, Masucci, and KoblerThe park contains Roman spolia and the remains of buildings used as part of a hunting preserve.

Santa Maria Assunta is a Roman Catholic parish church designed in 1661–1665 by Gianlorenzo Bernini; and located in the center of the town of Ariccia, Italy, where it stands across a piazza from the Palazzo Chigi Ariccia, once belonging to the family of Pope Alexander VII, Bernini's patrons in the construction of this church.

The church of Santa Maria ad Nives of Palazzolo (also called of Palazzola) is a Catholic place of worship located in the municipality of Rocca di Papa, in the province of Rome, in the suburbicarian diocese of Frascati. Next to the church stands the former convent of the Friars Minor Observant. The convent, which already existed in the 11th century, stands in a picturesque place overlooking Lake Albano: amidst alternate events it reached its period of maximum splendor around the middle of the 18th century, with the architectural interventions promoted by Bishop José Maria Ribeiro da Fonseca de Évora. The convent was a protectorate of the Kingdom of Portugal from 1870 to 1910, until it was handed over to private individuals in 1915. Since 1920 it has hosted a summer stay for seminarians from the Venerable English College.

Parco Chigi (Chigi Park) of Ariccia is a municipal green space of 28 hectares located in the municipality of Ariccia, in the province of Rome, in the area of the Castelli Romani.The first center of the park dates back to the sixteenth century; however, the current configuration is due to a series of interventions carried out by the Chigi family, who owned the park between 1661 and 1988. Today, the entire area is a property of the Municipality of Ariccia. Parco Chigi is annexed to the historic Palazzo Chigi of Ariccia. In regards to the complex of the palace and the park, some well-known architects contributed, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Fontana.The park is particularly important within the regional park of the Castelli Romani: in fact, it is one of the few green areas of the Colli Albani in which there has been no penetration of chestnut trees, but the oldest plant species have survived, mostly oaks. The park has a rich history dating back to ancient times. The wooded area that now makes up the park was known as nemus Aricinum during the Roman era, and was dedicated to the goddess Diana. After the advent of Christianity, the sacred nature of the forest was lost, and it eventually became a hunting reserve during the Renaissance owned by the Savelli family.In the 17th century, the Chigi family, a prominent Roman noble family, purchased the town of Ariccia and the surrounding area, including the park. They transformed the park into an elegant Baroque garden, featuring statues, fountains, and other ornate features. Other notable features of the park include the Uccelliera, an aviary built in the 17th century, and the Vignola, a small building originally used as a vineyard. The park also contains a neviera, a structure used for storing snow during the summer months.

Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some 32 kilometres (20 mi) southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia.Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view over the low country between it and the sea.