Italy's ancient Roman sites blighted by fly-tippers as locals despair at illegal dumping

The rural landscape around the 2nd-century complex near Tivoli was once a buffer zone from the ancient filth of urban Rome.

And in 1999, Unesco status meant the countryside around the villa needed to be kept clean.

But now, nocturnal fly-tippers deposit everything from kitchen cupboards to chemical waste among the bushes.

Protests in Rome have already broken out this year against toxic fires, illegal waste management and illegal landfills around the capital.

And now, campaigner Carlo Boldrighini of conservation group Italia Nostra has spoken out of how he uncovered a disused hot tub and kitchen units whilst examining the undergrowth around the villa.

"The locals can be less than civil when no one is looking," he told The Times.

Environmental activist Gianni Innocenti also bemoaned a spate of dumping paint and chemicals by nightfall.

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The pair's discoveries included construction waste, vehicle parts, and bin bags filled with metal containers scattered throughout the protected zone.

Unesco's 1999 recognition of Hadrian's Villa outlined how it was "an important and sensitive site that ensures the enhancement, presentation and protection of the outstanding universal value of the property, and as such requires sensitive management and protection".

But preservationists have still been forced to fend off moves to develop the emperor's land.

A years-long legal campaign was required to stop plans to turn an ancient quarry near the villa into a rubbish dump.

And in 2025, courts blocked a project to build apartment buildings on agricultural land in the Unesco zone.

But when planners took a step back, fly-tipping skyrocketed - with dumpers driving up lanes at night to dispose of their waste.

Mr Boldrighini said managers of the villa were planning to crack down on dumping.

However, Italia Nostra warned Italy's Culture Minister how "the buffer zone is heading for a state of abandonment, with farmland transformed into illegal tips".

Mr Innocenti also revealed how nearby Villa d’Este, a 16th-century villa known for its garden and fountains, had also fallen victim to refuse chaos.

"In the 1980s, someone routed a sewage pipe into the water supply of the villa by mistake and sewage started coming out of the fountains," he said.

Italy boasts 61 Unesco sites - more than any other nation.

But the sheer number of conservation areas are coming under further threat from development pressures and unauthorised construction on their borders.

As well as Hadrian's Villa, the emperor's wall also sits atop a fly-tipping crisis in England.

Across the 2023/24 year, local authorities in England dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents, an increase of six per cent from the year before.