The archaeological investigations at Colle Fiortito are part of the urbanization being undertaken in the XIX Municipio of the Comune of Rome (Zonal Plan B84). The area is dominated by a plateau, bordered to the east by the Fosso di Mezzalupo and to the west by the Fosso di Galeria (the modern via La Storta) and which to the north joins Monte Cetrolo. The investigation, which was limited to the slopes in the restricted area, identified a series of permanent settlements which developed between the 7th century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D. On the western side an ancient road was identified relating to the first occupation phase, which by making use of a natural declivity linked the southern part of the plateau from west to east. On the bottom of the declivity a road surface was formed on which there were fragments of pottery and baked clay. Chronologically the road seems to have functioned from the end of the 7th to the beginning of the 6th century B.C. Following its abandonment the road was covered by a succession of layers of hill-wash, from which fragments of pottery and building materials dating to the archaic and Republican periods were recovered.
Along the eastern side, in correspondence with a beaten earth road which is still in use, a stone road surface of Roman date emerged, this was uncovered for a length of 24 m. From the plateau, following the curves of the slope, it travels in a W-E direction towards the Fosso di Mezzalupo. The ancient road is interesting for the accuracy of the construction technique and the orthodoxy of its dimensions (3.86 m). Moreover, two substantial fills were revealed containing abundant Roman pottery and building materials which indicate the presence of a Roman settlement on the summit of this side of the plateau, as already hypothesised by a British survey. (Alessandra Tomassetti)