The Aniene River: an ecological and cultural corridor between the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Rome and Tivoli

Abstract

The lower Aniene corridor between Rome and Tivoli is a complex cultural landscape where historical structures, morphological dynamics and environmental values intersect with recent transformations. The UNESCO sites – the Historic Centre of Rome, the Via Appia Antica, Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este – define a multilayered context in which the river functions as an ecocultural infra- structure connecting heterogeneous territories and supporting integrated conservation policies. This essay interprets the corridor as an ecocultural infrastructure defined by five dimensions: morphological, ecological, cultural, managerial and narrative. A synoptic framework of protection and planning instruments (UNESCO Management Plans, PTPR, Aniene Nature Reserve, River Park) supports the analysis. Historical reconstruction of territorial continuities and recent changes shows how dispersed urbanisation, transport infrastructures and industrial decline have fragmented the river’s landscape and weakened its ecological performance.
The estates of Lunghezza and del Cavaliere appear as a strategic node and an emblematic case study for models integrating landscape, diffuse heritage and governance. Their location, layered values and recognition within planning instruments position the area as a potential cultural and managerial hub able to restore functional and perceptual continuities along the river.
The essay proposes an operational model to integrate protection and planning layers, translating Management Plan orientations into guidelines for recomposing ecological and settlement discontinuities, valorising diffuse heritage, enhancing slow mobility and structuring participatory multi-level governance. The lower Aniene corridor is presented as a laboratory for advanced peri-urban cultural landscape management prac¬tices offering replicable models.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.35.2025.20