The Veio Regional Natural Park, with its 14,984 hectares, is the fourth largest park in Lazio which includes nine Municipalities: Campagnano di Roma, Castelnuovo di Porto, Formello, Magliano Romano, Mazzano Romano, Morlupo, Riano, Sacrofano and the XVth Municipality of the Municipality of Rome, the latter with an area of 7,000 hectares covers almost half of the protected area; a territory where the naturalistic and historical-cultural components merge in a landscape of considerable scenic and historical-cultural value.
The Park is part of the northern sector of the capital, bordering the border of the Insugherata Nature Reserve. To the west it borders with the Bracciano – Martignano Natural Park and to the north with the Valle del Treja Natural Park.
This green belt around Rome produces a mitigating effect on the climate and guarantees continuity of the natural environment, protecting biodiversity. Despite having undergone urbanization processes in the past, the Parco di Veio is still intact overall and has therefore retained a high landscape value.
The territory of the Park can boast an ancient history, the result of the succession of different populations (Etruscans, Falisci, Romans) and of the establishment of variegated settlement models: from villages of prehistoric huts, to medieval fortified villages, Roman and Renaissance villas, up to to the farmhouses of the last century. Between the eighth and fifth centuries. the famous Etruscan city that the Romans called Veii was born and developed, the southernmost city of Etruria, traditional rival of Rome.
Veio controlled a vast territory (Agro Veientano) bordering to the north-east with the large region inhabited by Falisci and Capenati on the border with Sabina, to the north-west with the area dominated by the Etruscan city of Kaisra (later Caere Vetus – today Cerveteri ), while to the south it included the land along the right bank of the River Tiber.
The main reason for the conflict that soon developed between Veii and Rome was the control over the commercial landings along the Tiber and the salt marshes, located at its mouth, which in ancient times constituted a vital resource for feeding men and animals and for food preservation. The war was long and with ups and downs. Among the best-known episodes we recall the famous battle undertaken in 477 BC. by the Roman family of the Fabii against Veii, following the killing of Quinto Fabio by the Veienti. The battle ended with the massacre of 306 Fabii, who fell in an ambush organized by the enemies near the Crèmera river. Again, it is told of the killing of four Roman ambassadors by the Veiente King Lars Tolumnius, avenged by Aulus Cornelius Cosso who managed to kill the Etruscan king, triumphantly leading his remains to Rome. After a siege described with legendary traits like the famous taking of Troy, which according to tradition lasted ten years, in 396 BC. the dictator Marco Furio Camillo took and definitively destroyed the city. The President of the Park is Doctor Giorgio Polesi who for many years has been committed to preserving, testifying, and handing down the knowledge of such a rich heritage.