Every design for Velletri

Velletri sits where the Alban Hills end and the Pontine plain begins: its northern half climbs the southern slopes of an ancient volcano, its southern half reaches the edge of the former Pontine Marshes, long since drained.

What makes it unusual is how deep its history runs. This was a city of the Volsci, a rival of early Rome, and the home of the Octavii, the family of the emperor Augustus. In the Middle Ages it was one of the few free cities in Lazio, and its motto still proclaims the liberty given to it by pope and empire. Two battles were fought here, in 1744 and 1849, and in 1944 the town was at the centre of the fighting after the landing at Anzio. The Museo civico archeologico "Oreste Nardini" and the Area Archeologica Tempio delle Stimmate hold its ancient past, while the Torre del Trivio rises over the old centre and the Porta Napoletana still marks the road south.

For anyone who grew up here, the map brings back the streams cutting their valleys towards the sea, the railway to Rome ending at the station, and the tower watching over home.