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00 Velletri
Stemma di Velletri

Lazio · Roma

Velletri

The Castelli Romani town where Augustus grew up, now the largest wine commune of its hills.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
59 min from Rome
By train
Station in the comune
Population
52,528

Known for

  • VELLETRI DOC

    Lazio's serious red appellation since 1972: Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Cesanese grown on volcanic Alban Hills slopes.

  • AUGUSTUS

    Childhood home of the future emperor, whose family the Octavii had a street and an altar in ancient Velitrae.

  • CAESAR LINE

    Site of the American breakthrough in May 1944 that opened the road to Rome; the town was heavily bombed.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J11°
  • F13°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M22°
  • J27°
  • J31°
  • A30°
  • S25°
  • O21°
  • N16°
  • D12°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: papa Clemente I, 23 November

Why come

The town sits, thirty-five kilometers from Rome, on the southeastern rim of a volcanic ring of craters and lakes. Before it was a papal possession and a diocesan seat, it was a Volscian stronghold, and before that the home ground of the Octavii, the paternal family of the man who became Augustus: Suetonius records a street here called Octavian and an altar consecrated by an Octavius, and the future emperor passed his childhood in the town under its old name, Velitrae. That layering, Volscian settlement, imperial family seat, papal diocese, is what the center still shows once the war is accounted for: an army broke through a German defensive line here in May 1944, and much of the town was destroyed in the process.

What stands now above the old piazza and around the rebuilt town hall is largely reconstruction fitted around what survived, with a wine trade going back to the volcanic soil that predates all of it. A town whose name changed twice, whose family produced an emperor, and whose center was rebuilt from a battle line, but whose vineyards on the same slopes never stopped being the constant.

The Sunday letter

Velletri is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Velletri comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Velletri in our articles

How to get there

From Rome (FCO), about 1h 25m by car.

Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 2h 15m away.

By car from the centre of Naples 2h 19m or Pescara 2h 39m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Rome or Naples?

Coming by train into Latina? Velletri is about 34 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Rome airport.

Velletri, photo 1
Velletri, photo 2

What to see

  • Torre del Trivio

    50-meter Romanesque bell tower from the 14th century, the only structure to come through the 1944 bombing intact, still the shape by which the town is recognized from a distance.

  • Palazzo Comunale

    Renaissance town hall designed by Giacomo Della Porta, rebuilt after wartime damage, facing the piazza named for the emperor born to the town.

  • Cattedrale di San Clemente

    Cathedral seat of the suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni, a title held today by the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

  • Museo Civico Archeologico Oreste Nardini

    Archaeological museum with Volscian, Roman and medieval finds from the Alban Hills, including a copy of a sarcophagus found locally, the fullest record of what came before the Renaissance town on view.

  • Cantina Sociale di Velletri

    Cooperative founded in 1947, one of the largest in Lazio, producing the appellation's reds and whites from members' vineyards.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Velletri fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Benito al BoscoRistorante

    Benito al Bosco carries a Gambero Rosso listing.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 52,528
  • A local hubi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Rome, 1 h 25 min drive
  • Regional capital Roma, 59 min drive

Common questions

What is Velletri known for?
Velletri is the Castelli Romani town where Augustus grew up, now the largest wine commune of its hills.
Where is Velletri?
Velletri is a comune in the province of Roma, in Lazio, at 332 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Velletri?
Rome (FCO), about 1h 25m by car.
Can you get to Velletri without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Naples to Velletri?
About 2h 19m by car.
When is the best time to visit Velletri?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Velletri?
Yes. Calici sotto le stelle, Festa del Fungo Porcino e Fiera dell'Agricoltura and Festa dell'Uva e dei Vini di Velletri, and 2 more we hold a source for. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Velletri?
Tivoli, Rieti and Orvieto.
How many people live in Velletri?
52,528 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 332 m
  • Population: 52,528
  • Surface area: 118.23 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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