Little Lake Nemi, in the Alban Hills near Rome, continues to make news. A local winemaker and entrepreneur has submerged three hundred bottles of Caligola Roma DOC, in the deepest waters of the lake, where they will lie on the bed for a year to mature in the absense of oxygen and at a constant temperature. The experiment, if successful, could open up new studies in the enological field. Caligola Roma DOC is a relatively new wine, the result of a recent reintroduction of vine cultivation in the volcanic crater of Nemi. The initiative was welcomed by the local authorities of the towns of Nemi and Genzano, as well as the Castelli Romani Regional Park protected area and various national commercial associations, who hope that the interest attracted by the event will boost tourism to the area. The name Caligula refers to the infamous Roman emperor of the 1st century AD. A follower of the Egyptian cult of Iside, he built two (or three?) gigantic cult barges that floated on the lake and are believed to have been used in rituals connected with the Temple of Diana.
