A quick look at Rome’s surroundings draws our attention to its hills and fertile plains, stretching as far as the Tyrrhenian Sea, and crossed by the Tiber and Aniene rivers.
Tor Vergata is located southeast of Rome and is characterized by a gradual uphill denoting the vulcanic origin of the area, also called "Colli Albani". A number of streams originate from these hills which eventually merge into the Aniene river. This is indeed an ideal environment for human settlement.
Remains of the Upper Paleolithic (40,000-8,000 B.C.) were found in the area of Tor Vergata by the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome. About 81 flint tools and traces of fauna, belonging to the Equidae family (as perhaps the aurochs and bos primigenius) were also found. At that time, men already lived in caves or huts, were familiar with fire and buried their deads.
Further traces of the Neolithic (7,000-4,000 B.C.), highlighted by the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome, include fragments of ceramic vessels decorated with segmented, solid bands lacking drawn margins, and with segmented bands with a carved zig-zagged design. The samples found in Tor Vergata are characterized by a series of engravings depicting a small double-leaf pattern running parallel to the edge of the carved motif.
Thus, the area of Tor Vergata becomes part of History because of its high population density and permanent human settlements, differently from the neighbouring Etruria. Needless to say, the geographic location and physical configuration has, over the centuries, allowed the exploitation of agriculture and communication mainly through the Tiber and Aniene rivers.
