Tour of Monte Testaccio

Tour of Monte Testaccio begins in Monte Testaccio which is an artificial hill created between II° BC and III° AD completely by the fragments (in Latin “testae” hence the name of Testaccio) of amphorae used to transport olives oil or wine that were unloaded from the ships in the nearby river port of Rome.The hill has a perimeter of about 3,330 feet, and a height of 150 feet. It constitutes an important source of historical documentation about the economic development of the Roman Empire, the commercial relations and  the food habits of the Romans.Many of the amphorae that came mainly from Spain and North Africa have the marks impressed on their handles and others are painted or with notes written indicating the name of the exporter, the contents, and other important information.Calculating  the number of amphorae accumulated allowed us to know the amount of oil that reached Rome in this period.Our tour guides are professional licensed guides, possessing solid historical, archaeological and artistic backgrounds.