Via Amerina was separated from Via Cassia in the Baccano valley and, through the ancient ager faliscus (Faliscan territory), it linked Rome with the Umbria region, getting its name from the city of Amelia (Ameria). It was built following the Roman conquest of the territory (241 B.C.) and it encompassed the ancient roads system by linking important transversal trunks (Cassia, Flaminia and Tiberina).
The itinerary, which can still be singled out, is marked from the cities (Nepi, Falerii Novi) and from the neighbouring towns (Castel S. Elia, Civita Castellana, Fabrica di Roma, Corchiano, Gallese, Vasanello, Orte); other towns are reference points for interesting diversions (Faleria, Calcata). In summary, Via Amerina is a Roman road that crosses the Faliscan territory, preserving deep resonance with the Middle Ages and Christian traditions; to this extent, it successfully demonstrates historical and artistic remnants of the interested areas, offering reference points for the identification of a precise cultural and environmental itinerary. The map of the area, which is both flat and hilly, is the result of the action of the sabatino and cimino-vicano volcanic districts. At the landscape level, the first stretch possesses areas that are similar to that of the Lazio countryside, namely gently undulating, with pastures, woods and sowable land, amidst ruins and broad views; the central stretch makes its way into the Colli Cimini landscape with its vineyards, olive and hazelnut orchards; while the final segment is connected to the Tiber River surroundings that are linked to the flow of the river itself.
The prevailing elements, with tufaceous plateaus, are the striking ravines, deep valleys that have been excavated upon the volcanic plateau by the waterways: the Amerina crosses them with many bridges, levelling out the height differences with the usual tagliata crossings. Another resource of the territory that is linked to ravines is its water, that collects in streams, rivers and lakes.
The climatic aspect is one of a temperate region; natural vegetation lives alongside cultivations, in a correct symbiosis of safeguarding and productivity: a primary element are the woods that flank saxatile vegetation on the edge of the ravines, and the riparian vegetation that is often made up of cane thickets and rows of trees; seasonal  mutations ensure charming variations in the colour, scents and sounds of nature. Man became part of this environment from the Apennine phase with seasonal migration, primitive agriculture, harvesting and hunting. From the Faliscan period remain the settlements with the relative necropolis: standing on the tufaceous plains they dominate the valley, once hosting populations that dedicated themselves to the early forms of organized agriculture, supported by brilliant reclaiming and drainage systems (shafts, vertical wells).
The Roman conquest (241 B.C.) favoured urban decentralization and the increase of agricultural production with new cities (Falerii Novi) and new roadways (Amerina, Flaminia), while farms and country houses were installed within the rural environment. The end of Roman dominion and barbaric incursions, from the 5th to the 10th century, modified the area’s aspect with the strengthening of inhabited areas located on protected heights; the Greek-Gothic war (6th century) and the consequent Byzantine reorder, decreeing the fortification of some centres that surrounded the Amerina way (Nepi, Falerii, Gallese), which then proved to be determining in the successive Longobard invasion: the solid castra (buildings or plots of land used by the ancient Romans as a military defensive position) protected the only safe road between the dukedom of Rome and the exarchate of Ravenna (the Byzantine corridor), guaranteeing the necessary ways of communication.
The following actions by the Roman Church returned peacefulness to the entire area and via Amerina once again assumed a secondary role. The Christian religion left behind significant proof along the Amerino path, especially coinciding with the places marked by the martyrdom of the first faithful, by the Nepi catacombs (S. Savinilla catacomb, SS. Tolomeo and Romano) and by Falerii Novi (the catacombs of saints Gratiliano and Felicissima), up to the patron saints of Civita Castellana (saints Marciano and Giovanni) and Vasanello (the chapel of St. Lanno); from the following centuries remain important places of cult in Castel S. Elia (holy monks from the Suppentonia Valley) and Gallese (basilica of St. Famiano, who was a pilgrim monk from the 12th century). The many castra host illustrious renaissance and baroque structures, often within the ancient castles and strongholds, which stand as vigilant custodians of a noble past that has never faded away in time.