Today, 16 February 2020, a splendid walk, going up from the “Madonnella” and following the “green path” traced and marked on the map of the Saint Stefano hill, created by the Naturalmente Atina network.
This route, which we could also call “The Cyclopean Walls”, develops in fact above the first circuit of the polygonal walls that enclosed the ancient pre-Roman city, passing under the podium of the Acropolis, enclosed within the remains of the medieval fortress.
From there, always enjoying a spectacular view on the eastern side of the Comino Valley with the Apennine Massif of Monte Meta and Mainarde in the background, you reach Valle Giordana, where the Blue Path of the Roman Aqueduct begins.
The cyclopean walls represent a unicum of the protohistoric cities of Southern Lazio, in particular Atina, Alatri, Arpino, Aquino, Antino-Ferentino, the ancient Penturnum Saturnia of which a scholar from Arpino of 1600, Bernardo Clavelli wrote. They are also present in other centers of the Frosinone area (Sora, Montecassino, Castro dei Volsci, etc.), Lazio (Cori, Norba, Circeo) and Umbria (Amelia).
The green path aka
“The Cyclopean Walls” path
It was the travelers of the Gran Tour and scholars of antiquities who traveled through Italy in the period between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Gell, Dodwell, Marianna Candidi Dionigi, etc.) to assign them the name of “cyclopean” for the similarity with those of the ancient Greek city of Mycenae and Tiryns.
For this reason they were also called “Pelasgiche”, because they are attributed to that ancient people that spread from the Eastern Mediterranean to Southern Europe (Petit-Radel).
Later historians preferred instead to call them polygonal (because formed by irregular shaped boulders) or megalithic (because formed by large boulders).
The fact is that Gregorovius, one of the most famous travelers of the mid-nineteenth century, wrote about the Walls of Alatri: “When I found myself in front of that black titanic construction [the Acropolis], preserved in excellent condition, it almost did not count centuries and centuries, but only years, I felt a much greater admiration for human strength than that which inspired the sight of the Colosseum … a race that could build these walls, must already have had an important culture and orderly laws”.
Arpino is famous for its pointed door. The walls of Atina belong to the I and II manner of classification by the scholar Giuseppe Lugli and enclose one of the largest urban areas of antiquity.
There is still a lot of uncertainty about their dating. But surely, according to the writer, they have nothing to do with the construction techniques implemented by the Romans in historical times.
English translation by Louise Shapcott