It’s not all that common, I suppose, to take a seat at a fast food joint and hear a screeching voice, “Mom, look under your place. There’s a skeleton!”
But look forward to it. Joy is everywhere.
If you drive between Rome’s Ciampino Airport and the Castelli Romani along the SP77b, you’ll come to the little town of Frattocchie. There is a McDonald’s in the center, built over a very well-preserved bit of the Appia Antica.
The McDonald’s excavation unearthed the skeletons of three adult males buried in the 2nd-3rd century A.D. along the stretch of road. Each was in his own grave, with the three graves relatively close together towards the center of the surviving road section. Casts of the skeletons have been placed in the locations of the original graves along the road in the underground museum. — This Roman road brought to you by McDonald’s at Frattocchie south of Rome…
If you’re not thrilled about having to eat at a fast food joint when you’ve spent all that money getting to a place that brags about the quality of its traditional grub, be aware that you can see the road and the skeletons, which aren’t real, of course—who would stand for that?—because the museum is separate from the restaurant. But still, McDonald’s did finance the whole deal…
Here’s a tidbit that takes you through the scene…
Real short video of the experience of encountering a skeleton
Location Map of the Frattocchie McDonald’s
Where to Stay
To stay in the town of Frattocchie, see:
Since the visit to see the Roman Road with skeletons is a short one, perhaps it would be better to stay in one of the towns in the Castelli Romani, like Castel Gondolfo.