A charity event for Appia Happy Kids

Cavalli e Cavalieri nei Parchi dell'Appia Antica

Two or three days on horseback along the Regina Viarum, among aqueducts, Roman villas and mausoleums in a UNESCO World Heritage site. A holiday that is also a good deed: the proceeds go to the children of Appia Happy Kids.

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When4 – 7 March 2027Two or three days in the saddle
WhereAppia Antica ParksRome · UNESCO World Heritage
For whomAppia Happy KidsThe proceeds go to the project

The experience

Two or three days on horseback in the Appia Antica Parks

Every morning we set out from the Excalibur Riding Club, in groups led by federation instructors, along Rome's most ancient road. And whoever comes with you but doesn't ride discovers the Eternal City.

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With your own horse

Bring it from home: we stable it in a show box at the Excalibur Riding Club, with a vet, a horse ambulance and a farrier on hand throughout the event.

With a hired horse

We provide the horse, matched to your level. You just bring your boots and riding clothes.

For those who come with you

Guided walking tours in the parks and a day in the heart of Rome. Dinners and seminars together with the riders.

The programme

The programme

Arrival is on Thursday 4 March: horses settled in at the Excalibur club, check-in at the Park Hotel Appia Antica, a technical briefing with the guides and, at 8 pm, the welcome dinner with the Governor of Rotary District 2080 and the first Sapienza seminar. Then we ride: Friday and Saturday for everyone, Sunday with the Diamond package.

The archaeological ride

In groups of up to 20 horses, across the Roman Campagna and along the Via Appia Antica, in the shade of the umbrella pines. Along the way, students and lecturers in History and Architecture from Sapienza bring the monuments to life.

  1. Tacking up and allocation of horses at the Excalibur Riding Club.

  2. Riders' lunch at the Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica club, with specialities from Lazio.

  3. Ride back at sunset, among «the colours of the Appia Antica».

  4. «Flavours and scents of Lazio» dinner at the Cartiera Latina, headquarters of the Regional Park.

For companions: Parco degli Acquedotti, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, the Church of San Nicola and Capo di Bove with a guide, lunch at the Giardino del Vivaio.

The route

  1. Excalibur Riding Club
  2. Roman Campagna
  3. Via Appia Antica
  4. Tomb of Caecilia Metella
  5. Church of San Nicola
  6. Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica club · lunch
  7. Back to Excalibur
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The guides

Who rides with you

FISE federation instructors and guides who know every trail in the parks. On Thursday evening, at a technical briefing, they form the groups according to your riding licence.

Marco Santucci in the full dress uniform of the mounted Carabinieri, riding a dapple-grey horse

Marco Santucci

FISE Federation Instructor · Mounted Carabiniere

Stefano Masella in a black jacket and helmet clearing a jump on a black horse

Stefano Masella

FISE Federation Instructor

Mauro Massoli

President of Dream Riders

Paolo Bari

Event Director

Valentina Surname

Riding guide and archaeologist

Claudia Surname

Riding guide

Michele Surname

Riding guide

Nico Surname

Riding guide

Assistance

We've thought of everything

You just enjoy the ride. We take care of the rest, from the first day to the last.

For your horse

The horse ambulance

An ambulance for horses, available throughout the event.

  • The vet

    Fabrizio Pochesci, on hand throughout the event.

  • The farrier

    Name and surname, on hand throughout the event.

  • The stables

    Your horse stays in a show box at the Excalibur Riding Club, inside the park, a few minutes from the hotel.

For you

  • The guides

    One guide or qualified assistant for every 6 riders, one guide for every 5 with hired horses.

  • The shuttle

    On request, from Ciampino and Fiumicino airports, or from the Metro A stop at Colli Albani to the hotel.

The venue

Here's where we'll be

Almost 3,500 hectares of Roman countryside along the Regina Viarum, south of Rome: aqueducts, villas, mausoleums and historic estates in a UNESCO World Heritage landscape.

The arches of the Roman aqueduct cross a green meadow between rows of umbrella pines, with the Alban Hills on the horizon

Appia Antica Archaeological Park

The heart of the event: the Via Appia Antica, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, Capo di Bove, the Villa dei Quintili and the Casale di Caccia alla Volpe.

The basalt paving of the Via Appia Antica between umbrella pines and cypresses, beside the remains of a Roman brick mausoleum

Appia Antica Regional Park

The Parco degli Acquedotti, the Cartiera Latina and the gathering's two riding clubs, Excalibur and Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica.

The hotel's three-storey peach façade with balconies, the entrance with its sign and the cobbled forecourt

You'll stay at the Park Hotel Appia Antica

A four-star hotel at the gates of the parks, with rooms reserved for participants, a 150-cover restaurant and a 200-seat conference room.

  • Via Appia Nuova 934, Rome
  • 4 km from Ciampino airport
  • Metro A to Colli Albani, then shuttle
  • A few minutes from the Excalibur club

And here's where you'll eat

  1. Thursday · dinner

    Park Hotel Appia Antica

    The welcome dinner, with the Governor of Rotary District 2080.

  2. Friday · lunch

    Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica

    Lazio specialities and atmosphere at the riding centre, halfway along the route.

  3. Friday · dinner

    Cartiera Latina

    «Flavours and scents of Lazio»: Italian cuisine, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, at the headquarters of the Regional Park.

  4. Saturday · lunch

    Casale di Caccia alla Volpe

    At the end of the ride, food trucks serving local Lazio produce.

  5. Saturday · Golden Gala Dinner

    Tenuta di Fiorano

    The fundraising dinner for Appia Happy Kids, hosted by the Princes Boncompagni Ludovisi.

  6. Sunday · brunch

    Tenuta di Fiorano

    Back at the Golden Gala estate, at the finish of the Treasure Hunt: brunch with Lazio produce and the wines of Fiorano.

The seminars

The Sapienza seminars

During the dinners, professors from Sapienza University of Rome and the directors of the two Parks tell the story of the Appia Antica as you've never heard it before.

The talks are coordinated by Tatiana K. Kirova, UNESCO relations delegate of Rotary District 2080, Rotary year 2026-2027.

Thursday 4

  • Prof. Arch. Mario DocciAcademician, Professor Emeritus at Sapienza
  • Prof. Arch. Emanuela ChiavoniFull Professor of Drawing, Sapienza · «The colours of the Appia Antica»

Friday 5

  • Prof. Arch. Marina DocciLecturer in Restoration, Sapienza · National President of AIPAI
  • Prof. Ing. Edoardo CurràSapienza University of Rome

Saturday 6

  • Prof. Arch. Maria Grazia TurcoProfessor of Restoration, Sapienza · «The history of fox hunting in Rome»
  • Arch. Barbara TettiResearcher in Architecture, Sapienza
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The organisers

The organisers: Dream Riders

A non-profit social association of FISE instructors, doctors, equestrian professionals and Rotarians, putting horses at the service of people.

  • Mauro MassoliPresident of Dream Riders
  • Paolo BariEvent Director
  • Marco SantucciFISE Federation Instructor
  • Stefano MasellaFISE Federation Instructor
  • Fabrizio PochesciVet

Your contribution has one destination

All the proceeds of the event will go to the Appia Happy Kids project: a riding centre on the Appia Antica that will welcome vulnerable children free of charge for psychomotor and emotional rehabilitation, once their medical treatment is over.

Download the project

In collaboration with

  • Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC)
  • Appia Antica Archaeological Park

Under the patronage of

  • Appia Antica Regional Park

With the support of

  • Rotary Club Magliano Sabina
  • Rotary Club Colleferro

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can't find the answer? Write to info@dreamriders.it.

Book

Choose your package

For riders, with your own horse or a hired one, and for those who come with you. Prices per person, in a double room.

1 How are you coming?

2 How many days in the saddle?

Silver

2 days on horseback

  • 3 nights at the Park Hotel Appia Antica 4★, 4 to 7 March
  • 2 days of horseback rides, Friday and Saturday
  • Show box for your horse at the Excalibur club
  • Hired horse for every day in the saddle
  • FISE riding guides: one for every 6 riders, one for every 5 with hired horses
  • 2 dinners: welcome dinner at the Park Hotel and «Flavours and scents of Lazio» at the Cartiera Latina
  • 2 lunches: at the Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica club and from the food trucks at the Casale di Caccia alla Volpe
  • 2 Sapienza seminars, during the dinners
  • Guided tour of the Appia Antica with Sapienza students and professors
  • Vet, horse ambulance and farrier throughout the event
  • Not included: Golden Gala Dinner
  • Not included: «Remembering Sissi» hunt
  • Not included: Sunday: Treasure Hunt and brunch at Fiorano
Silver programme (PDF)
With your own horse€1,030
0
With a hired horse€1,290
0

Gold

2 days on horseback

  • 3 nights at the Park Hotel Appia Antica 4★, 4 to 7 March
  • 2 days of horseback rides, Friday and Saturday
  • Show box for your horse at the Excalibur club
  • Hired horse for every day in the saddle
  • FISE riding guides: one for every 6 riders, one for every 5 with hired horses
  • 3 dinners: welcome dinner at the Park Hotel, «Flavours and scents of Lazio» at the Cartiera Latina and the Golden Gala Dinner
  • 2 lunches: at the Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica club and from the food trucks at the Casale di Caccia alla Volpe
  • 3 Sapienza seminars, during the dinners
  • Guided tour of the Appia Antica with Sapienza students and professors
  • Vet, horse ambulance and farrier throughout the event
  • Golden Gala Dinner at the Tenuta di Fiorano estate
  • Gold 24K: on Saturday, as an alternative, the «Remembering Sissi» huntWith your own horse and if you are a member of the Rome Fox Hunt Society: say so in the notes
  • Not included: Sunday: Treasure Hunt and brunch at Fiorano
Gold programme (PDF)
With your own horse€1,290
0
With a hired horse€1,520
0
The most complete

Diamond

3 days on horseback

  • 3 nights at the Park Hotel Appia Antica 4★, 4 to 7 March
  • 3 days of horseback rides, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
  • Show box for your horse at the Excalibur club
  • Hired horse for every day in the saddle
  • FISE riding guides: one for every 6 riders, one for every 5 with hired horses
  • 3 dinners: welcome dinner at the Park Hotel, «Flavours and scents of Lazio» at the Cartiera Latina and the Golden Gala Dinner
  • Lunch and brunch: Friday at the Cavalieri dell'Appia Antica club, Sunday at the Tenuta di Fiorano estate
  • 3 Sapienza seminars, during the dinners
  • Guided tour of the Appia Antica with Sapienza students and professors
  • Vet, horse ambulance and farrier throughout the event
  • Golden Gala Dinner at the Tenuta di Fiorano estate
  • «Remembering Sissi» hunt on SaturdayWith your own horse and if you are a member of the Rome Fox Hunt Society
  • Sunday Treasure Hunt and brunch at FioranoWith your own horse and membership of the Rome Fox Hunt Society, or a FISE B licence
Diamond programme (PDF)
With your own horse€1,390
0
With a hired horse€1,900
0
4 – 7 March 2027From €650 per person
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