The gens Octavia came from here: Suetonius says the family of Augustus, the first emperor, had its roots in Velletri — and the famous Pallas of Velletri, now in the Louvre, bears witness to the town's ancient standing. Before that it belonged to the Volsci, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus calls it illustrious. In the Middle Ages it was one of the very few free cities of Lazio, and its motto still says so: the liberty of the pope and of the empire together.
That position on the road to Rome has cost it dearly three times: battles were fought here in 1744 and in 1849, and in 1944, after the Anzio landing, the town ended up in the middle of the fighting between Germans and Allies. Its territory straddles two worlds: to the north the Alban Hills, born of the collapse of the Latium Volcano's caldera, to the south the edge of the Pontine Marshes, drained only in the twentieth century. The last balcony of the Castelli Romani towards the south, Velletri has always lived on wine: its cellars and the October grape festival celebrate it without airs. Porta Napoletana, the medieval towers and the diocesan museum with works of the school of Raphael make up the centre; the woods of the Artemisio and Lake Nemi are minutes away.
Cattedrale di San Clemente and 1 more
Carbonara
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Next up: Saint Clement, patron whose cathedral holds the relics of Pontian and Eleutherius, Monday 23 November
Nearest airport: Roma Ciampino, 22 km away
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📅 Every year, on 23 November
Velletri celebrates Saint Clement and Saints Annia and Gerontia on 23 November; the cathedral basilica dedicated to him, an ancient Roman basilica known since the 5th century, also holds the precious icon of the Madonna delle Grazie and the relics of the martyrs Pontian and Eleutherius.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Velletri, but an easy day trip away.
