Stones of Rome III

Marmo di Cottanello

As the unusually long and hot Italian summer began to break this week, and the storms that normally come after Ferragosto swept across central Italy with unexpected alacrity, we retreated to the verdant hills of Sabina to stay with our classicist chums (I recommend Gideon Nisbet’s excellent translation of Martial, his blog, and Diana Spencer’s splendid book on Varro).

The view from the quarry of Monte Lacerone. August 2022.

We share an enthusiasm for jaunting in search of the inexhaustible delights of Lazio: abandoned medieval villages long swallowed by forests, arches of ancient aqueducts, and possible Roman villas lurk down every country road. One such site is the defunct quarry on the Monte Lacerone near Cottanello: very much my bag.