Subiaco

Subiaco is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in Lazio, central Italy, 40 kilometres from Tivoli alongside the river Aniene. It is a tourist and religious resort because of its sacred grotto , in the medieval St Benedict's Abbey, and its Abbey of Santa Scolastica.

Among the first ancient settlers in the area were the Aequi, an Italic people. In 304 BC they were conquered by the Romans, who introduced their civilization and took advantage of the waters of the Aniene river. The present name of the city comes from the artificial lakes of the luxurious villa that Roman emperor Nero had built: in Latin Sublaqueum means "under the lake." The name was applied to the town that developed nearby. The biggest of the three Subiaco Dams was then the highest dam in the world until its destruction in 1305. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the villa and the town were abandoned, becoming almost forgotten ruins.

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