Route map		Where to stay
	Historical and natural attractions		Markets and fairs
	Local products		Outdoor activities
	Producers		A traditional recipe
	Where to eat		Complete description of the itinerary

Via Tiburtina continues, after Tivoli, with the name of Tiburtina-Valeria. Along the hill tops which border the road visitors can admire Castel Madama, Vicovaro and, just two kilometres from the latter, the splendid Convent of San Cosimato. However, the Aniene Valley isn't only about past history; this is proved by the artistic vitality of Anticoli Corrado, animated today by several artists' studies. On the main square, Arturo Martini's Noah's Ark fountain stands, archaic and powerful. Donations by artists who have passed through the town have allowed the Civic Museum of Modern Art to be born. Finally, the last stop in the Valley is Licenza, where Vigne San Pietro is, home to the ruins of the villa which Maecenas gave Horatio and which was often mentioned by the poet in his Odes.


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WHERE TO EAT 


TIVOLI
La Cerra
S. Clemente
Villa Luce


CICILIANO
Al Giovenzano


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Apogeo Ambiente srl
06 87186073 - info@apogeoambiente.it
www.apogeoambiente.it


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Category: first course
Difficulty: medium
Ready in: 1 hour
Season: all

Ingredients (four servings)
Home made pasta: 400g of flour, water (as needed)
Sauce: tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, 1 clove of garlic, ½ an onion, peperoncino (Italian small chilli), salt

Preparation
Make a mound with the flour on your work surface and scoop out a well; gradually add water until the dough is smooth and elastic. Roll out the mixture in a thin pastry and let it dry for about 30 minutes. Dust with flour and fold over, then cut into strips about 1cm wide.
While the dough is drying, place the oil, garlic, peperoncino and onion in a pan. Fry until brown, then add the peeled and squashed tomatoes and salt. Place the pasta in boiling and salty water and cook until it floats (about five minutes). Serve with a generous sprinkling of pecorino romano.

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Via Tiburtina continues, after Tivoli, with the name of Tiburtina-Valeria, after the name of the consul in charge of the road's development in the Aniene's middle valley. This is characterized by the "cocuzzolo" (hill top) towns which follow one another on the hills along the road. The first of these is the graceful Castel Madama, whose name derives from "Madama" Margherita, daughter of Emperor Charles V, who married a Farnese prince, feudatory of the area. Vicovaro is also an interesting town; the Orsini family had one of the most interesting forms of Latium Renaissance architecture built here - the octagonal 'small temple' of San Giacomo. 


Just two kilometres away from Vicovaro, the splendid Convent of San Cosimato is representative of the first traces of monastic life left in the upper Aniene by San Benedetto who in 500 A.D. left Rome to withdraw to Subiaco. The monastery was built on the ruins of a Roman villa, whose cisterns are still visible in the vaults. Here pope Gregorio Magno built an oratory dedicated to Saints Cosma and Damiano (590-604), although another tradition has it that this was built by Emperor Charlemagne, in thanks for the victory over the Saracens which occurred near here, known as the "battle of Cosimato". This is remembered in the cycle of medieval frescoes which decorate the convent's interior.  


Under the monastic complex some scenic grottos open in the rocky cliff, where the first hermits withdrew to meditate.
However, the Aniene Valley isn't only about past history; this is proved by the artistic vitality of Anticoli Corrado. From De Carolis to Kokoschka, Italian and foreign painters and sculptors alike have stayed here for long periods of time. Luigi Pirandello often spent his holidays here; Picasso too stopped here briefly and Rafael Alberti, fleeing from Francoist Spain, spent many years of his exile in this town. Today several artists' studies animate it; on the main square Arturo Martini's Noah's Ark fountain stands, archaic and powerful. Donations made by every artist who passed through the town have allowed the Civic Museum of Modern Art to be born - a unique collection, in its genre. 


Finally, the last stop in the Valley is Licenza, where Vigne San Pietro is home to the ruins of the villa which Maecenas gave Horatio and which was often mentioned by the poet in his Odes. The estate spread around the poet's home; today only the external walls and a small part of the floor mosaics survive. 


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