Presidenza della Repubblica Presidenza della Repubblica

The Castelporziano Estate

The natural environment

The Presidential Estate of Castelporziano is located at 25 Km from the centre of Rome, extends over a surface of 60 sq km (approx. 6,000 hectares) and includes several historic hunting grounds like “Trafusa, Trafusina, Riserve Nuove and Capocotta”.

To the North-West, the Estate borders with Via Cristoforo Colombo, to the North-East with State Road “Pontina”, to the South-East with Via Pratica di Mare and the rest of its perimeter borders with a 3-kilometer-long uncontaminated beach along the Tyrrhenian Sea shoreline.

Castelporziano englobes several coastal ecosystems typical of the Mediterranean environment. Sandy beaches, recent sand dunes with their typical pioneer and colonizing species whose function is to actively consolidate the sands, stabilized old dunes with ample backdune wetlands, maquis shrubland and thickets featuring typical evergreen and aromatic species dovetail into each other from the coastline inland. This stretch of land is then gradually overtaken by holm-oak thickets which, in the moistest places, alternate with a lowland woodland of oaks typically mixed with cork oak forests. The woods open up into grazing land for wild livestock breeding and extensive cereal cultures for animal fodder.

Most of the Estate consists of lowland hygrophilous woodlands (lowland woodland typical of humid environments) featuring evergreen and deciduous oak trees and more specifically hygrophilous species, especially in the proximity of the wetlands.

This is one of the last biodiversity-dense stretches of the vast forests and woodlands that once, in ancient times, extended along the whole coast of Latium.

The stone pine forest which, up to only a few years ago, stretched over 1000 hectares in pure and mixed configurations, is now reduced down to a few scattered groups of trees located in the most impervious areas as a result of a plague of Toumeyella parvicornis (commonly known as “pine tortoise scale”) that decimated the pine tree populations across Italy’s southern and central Tyrrhenian coasts.

An ambitious forest restoration project has already kicked off and envisages the reinstatement in a few years’ time of greatly varied mixed oak forests according to the different soil profiles, thus re-endowing Castelporziano with the forest cover that made it unique among the Mediterranean Basin landscapes.

The combination of native oak species lists, among the evergreens, holm oaks, cork oaks and Quercus crenata, a hybrid between Turkey oak and cork oak. Among the deciduous oaks, there are Turkey oaks, English oaks and Hungarian oaks, while the cooler wetlands are covered with poplars, narrow-leaved ash trees, maple trees, hornbeams and Oriental hornbeams.

The undergrowth is particularly rich in aromatic plants: strawberry trees, cistus, heather, juniper, mastic, myrtle, Phillyrea, laurel, Rhamnus alaternus and broom.

In the less accessible spots, the forest is dense with old-growth and monumental trees. The latter are punctually surveyed and monitored: the 2025 census recorded 22 monumental trees of 5 different species.

From the biological and ecosystemic point of view, note should be taken of the so-called “pools”, natural water tables that bear witness to the long-past existence of wetlands, flooded woodlands and marshes that once stretched southward to the Pontina Plain and northward to the Maremma region of Tuscany.

The great variety of vegetation is matched by a correspondingly great wealth of wildlife species.

There are numerous ungulates that live in the wild that mainly consist of wild boars, fallow deer and roe deer while deer is sparse. In addition to the ungulates, the forest is populated with numerous other mammals: foxes and hedgehogs and, among the Mustelidae, there are pine martens, skunks, and badgers, while the rodents include porcupines and the lagomorphs Corsican hares and wild rabbits. Recent surveys also show the return of wolves, one of the large Italian mammals at the apex of the peninsula’s food pyramid.

From a zoological point of view, note should be taken of the wild boars, which belong to the genetically purest species among those originating in continental Italy, the Italian sub-species of roe deer (originating from the centre-south of Italy, they are acknowledged to be taxonomically different from the European roe deer) and the Corsican hare.

The Castelporziano forest offers refuge to several bird species, both migratory and non-migratory. The oak forest offers adequate shelter to peak numbers of various species such as jay birds as well as nocturnal birds of prey such as little owls, tawny owls and barn owls and diurnal species including common buzzards, kestrels and sparrow hawks. The migratory birds, most of which come to spend the winter, include wood pigeons and woodcocks while other migratory birds are attracted to the wetlands and include: Anatidae, waders and stilt-birds, all of which populate the pools of water and temporary water reservoirs. In spring, bird life is enriched with other species like the golden oriole, turtle doves, black kites, and a vast range of insectivore species.

Castelporziano is endowed with a migratory bird-ringing and surveying station aimed at identifying and studying migratory birds.

There is also a large number of reptiles which include freshwater turtles, amphibians, and aquatic insects and crustaceans that typically live in the “pools”, as well as species that thrive on the decomposition cycle of rotting wood, mainly large beetles commonly asso ciated with old-growth trees that are embedded in the Mediterranean vegetation and in the beach-dune systems.

Cattle breeding constitutes a relevant component of the typical Roman rural landscape. In fact, the Castelporziano Estate assures the pureness of breed of Maremman horses and cattle, which are practically on the verge of extinction, by breeding them in the wild and having them handled by “butteri”, the traditional Maremman cattle herders, according to centuries-old traditions. The breeding selection is so efficient and so much care is placed on maintaining the typical genomes that the specimens bred at the Estate often rank amongst the best in major cattle shows.

The farming is traditionally intensive, and the agricultural land is fully integrated into Rome’s rural landscape. At present, the 650 hectares of grazing and non-intensive cropland are planted with cereals and fodder used to feed the livestock.

Over the years, protection measures aimed at safeguarding the naturalistic value of the only real green lung in a densely populated and developed area have been intensified, thus gradually enhancing its environmental relevance.

Hunting was prohibited there as early as 1977 and in 1985 the Estate annexed the area of Capocotta, another 1,000-hectare estate that was spared from urban sprawl. In 1999 the Castelporziano Estate was recognized as a State Nature Reserve and subjected to protection measures in line with those protecting natural wildlife areas. Consistently with these objectives, a History and Nature Museum was built in Capocotta with the aim of fostering environmental education and training.

A Scientific Council and an Inter-Institutional Coordination Committee were established in order to maximize the protection of the delicate equilibrium of natural ecosystems and to support and optimize the management of the Estate.

An environmental monitoring system was activated already in 1995. Thanks to the participation and commitment of numerous scientific agencies and institutes, the system makes it possible to continuously and carefully monitor all the environmental parameters involved. The system surveys polluting agents, the organic make-up of the soil, the level of groundwater aquifers, the properties and salinity of groundwater, the state of conservation of forests, the density of animal populations and temperature and precipitation data.

The data of the environmental monitoring programme is made available to the scientific community, thus converting the Estate into a Mediterranean-based living lab.

Castelporziano is known among scientists as a unique area of great naturalistic value due to the high level of biodiversity, complex forest systems, a wealth of flora (with approximately 1200 plant species) and fauna (with more than 3500 species), in addition to the presence of natural pools of water and temporary and permanent wetland areas. This biological wealth, compounded with the presence of numerous species and habitats of interest to the EU, has made it possible to include Castelporziano in the Natura 2000 network established by the relevant EU directive, classifying it as a SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and SPA (Special Protection Area).

Over the last five-year period, the efforts made to protect and optimize natural resources have been rewarded with important recognitions relative to the sustainability of forest management. In 2020, the Castelporziano Estate was awarded a Sustainable Forest Management Certificate under the PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes), thus becoming the first forest to receive the certification in the Latium Region.

The Laurentino area

The Castelporziano Estate also encompasses a vast territory once known as Laurentino, stretching from the city of Lavinio-Laurento, a town associated with the legendary landing of Aeneas in Latium, to the foothills of the Alban Hills (Colli Albani), the Tiber River delta plain and the coastline.

The region was settled by Man already in prehistoric times: starting from the Iron Age (9th Century Before Christ) it was occupied by settlements with dwellings which, over the Archaic period (800 BC – 500 BC), stabilized and gradually formed an urban settlement, most of which was perched on the hills with a view to controlling the natural ways of communication, and developed into a flourishing town, as in the case of Decima.

As Rome consolidated its power (400 BC – 300 BC), the whole Laurentino territory was covered with rustic-type buildings, villas and residences that served in the organization of the area’s agricultural activities while Rome’s main historical Laurentina and Ostiense roads took shape in their definitive form.

Starting after the second Punic war and even more intensely during the period of the late Roman Republic (200 BC – 100 BC), sea-side settlements started developing along the old coastline, which included villas belonging to eminent figures of Rome’s aristocracy, built in a territory that was very close to Rome and which was already popular because of the town of Ostia, Rome’s port-town.

During the Roman Empire, refined residential developments continued with the construction of numerous villas. Historical records list a villa owned by the emperor’s family and another one by the writer Pliny the Younger.

For the provision of essential services, the villas depended on a small village, Vicus Augustanus, which was created under Augustus and remained operative until late antiquity. The coastal developments were connected to Rome through an articulate roadway system comprising the Ostiense and Laurentina main roads and their branches and the Via Severiana, an ancient coastal footpath that connected Ostia’s port with the Latium Vetus coast.

With the end of the Roman Empire, the territory passed under the control of the Catholic Church, as property of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, as was known ever since the 5th Century AD. The first fortification was built on the present site of the castle during the 10th Century AD, when its ownership title was transferred to the monks of Rome’s old basilica of San Saba until 1561. When the San Saba monastery was closed by order of Pope Pius IV, the Castelporziano Estate was listed among the assets of the Ospedale di Santo Spirito.

In 1568, the estate was sold to the Florentine del Nero family, which maintained its ownership until 1823, when it was purchased by Duke Vincenzo Grazioli; in 1872 the Estate was purchased by the Minister of Finance, Quintino Sella, on behalf of the Italian State, with the aim of turning it into the King’s hunting grounds.

Since 1948, the Castelporziano Estate, together with the Quirinale Palace and Villa Rosebery in Naples, is at the disposal of the President of the Republic.

The Roman villas

The ancient Roman villas built in the Laurentino area fall under a dual typology of extra-urban residences: rustic homes, destined to be used for agricultural purposes, and villas otium, stately homes mainly used for the owners’ physical and mental leisure.

Remains of the first typology of homes can be found in the Malafede valley and on the adjacent hills. The stately homes were scattered throughout the coastal axis along Via Severiana and remains can still be seen along the coast, bearing witness to the monumentality and wealth of their decorations, especially their mosaic flooring, the wall paintings and the marble panelling.

The Castle and Borgo (hamlet)

After the breakdown of the territorial organization following the fall of the Roman Empire and the turbulent historical developments in the post-Classical era and in the Early Middle Ages, the areas surrounding Rome mainly fell into the hands of the Church. That was the time at which the Domus Culta Laurentum was created by Pope Zachary (741 - 752 AD) to organize the agricultural, social and religious activities of the Estate in the Laurentino area.

Following the changes in the general political scenario, the original nucleus of the Castle was built between the 10th and 11th Centuries – a tower around which a group of buildings was progressively built within a fortified enclosure which, during the 14th Century, would be recognised and referred to as castrum. In 17th century maps (for example, the Alexandrine Cadastre of 1660), the Castle is often portrayed as a quadrangular fortification with towers at the corners, a double entrance gate, crowning elements and battlements. The Castle was amply renovated by the Grazioli family (1823 - 1872) who almost doubled its perimeter compared to the original structure. The bel étage of the Castle features furnishings dating back to the reign of the House of Savoy mostly originating from the Quirinale Palace. Amongst the great variety of furnishing styles on the bel étage, the principal themes celebrate the House of Savoy and hunting.

One of the hamlet’s characteristic features is the classical Italian-style garden called Horti della Regina (Queen’s Gardens). The gardens’ higher grounds host a large mosaic from the 2nd century AD, at the centre of which lies a majestic horse sculpted by Master Mario Ceroli which belongs to the “Quirinale’s Contemporary Collection”. The gardens still include a citrus grove, espalier lemon trees, and the “mound” on which the queen liked to spend her leisure time.

The garden also hosts several trees and shrubs donated to the Italian President’s Office which bear memorial plates that also contain their main botanical features.

The History and Archaeology Museum

The History and Archaeology Museum hosted in one of the buildings of the compound, displays over two hundred objects from the archaeological digs carried out in the Castelporziano Estate starting from the mid-1800s. The museum’s itinerary is articulated into several halls and showcases a number of exhibits ordered according to the monumental structures they belonged to and displayed in chronological order.

The historical, documentary, and artistically most relevant grave goods on display are from two tombs found in the necropolis of Castel di Decima (700 BC) together with a portion of a painted ceiling from the Roman period found in the imperial villa whose conspicuous remains still stand in the area of Tor Paterno. 

The Carriage and Historic Cars Pavilion

The “Carriage Loggia” and “Historic Cars Pavilion” display the wooden vehicles used by the House of Savoy for royal hunting parties as well as the carriages used to ride along the roads of the Estate and agricultural vehicles for farming. The large Breaks and Hunting-breaks were mainly used to carry guests to the hunting grounds. The collection also includes Phaetons and Spider-Phaetons, solid and speedy sporty carriages. Equally important were the Break wagonettes, which were used to carry guests to the spots chosen for the royal hunt and to train horses. In addition to the hunting carriages, there are many more woodies that were used by the Queen to visit the archaeological sites: various types of gigs and elegant Vis à Vis carriages on which the ladies escorted their sovereign. Of particular interest is the carriage used for rides in the countryside, “at the service of the royal princesses”, as is written in the old inventories. The exhibition also displays woodies used for farming and wagons used to transport the prey killed in battues.

The Carriage Pavilion has recently been enriched with two cars: a Fiat 513 Mod. 4 “Saetta del Re” and a Lancia Flaminia 335, specially designed by Pininfarina for the President of the Republic.