Albano owes its importance to the construction of the original Appian Way (see Rome/South) which passed nearby and made it possible for affluent Romans to access the area and build summer villas.
Ariccia is close to Lake Nemi. It has become famous for its "porchetta", which is pork that is slowly roasted with herbs and wild fennel.
Castel Gandolfo. Summer home to the Popes. Overlooking Lake Albano, which is a popular summer weekend destination for Romans.
Frascati. An attractive town with a large number of villas, most notably Villa Aldobrandini which dominates the town. Many places to sample the local white wine.
A view of the Infiorata at Genzano
Genzano. An interesting town but mainly famous for its "Infiorata" on the Sunday and Monday following Corpus Christus. A whole street is covered with carpets of flowers and a masked parade walks on these, with participants in traditional clothes. Each year the flower designs must conform to a previously agreed theme.
Marino. This is the closest of the Castelli Romani towns to Rome. Also well-known for its, fairly average, white wine, Marino was an important town under the Romans and has several interesting buildings. It hosts a Grape festival on the first Sunday of October, when some of the fountains spout wine instead of water. Best avoided on that day as it can get very crowded. Somewhat stranger, on the following Sunday Marino holds a Doughnut Festival.
Nemi. Overlooks the lake of the same name. It is an important fruit growing area. The town is dominated by the Ruspoli Castle. At Via Diana 15, there is a small museum of the Roman Navy, which houses reconstructions of two ships of the Emperor Caligula, discovered at the lake in the 1930s and then unfortunately destroyed by fire .
Rocca di Papa is an important equestrian center and also famous for its roast chestnuts.
Rocca Priora. At 768 meters, the highest town in the Castelli.
Tuscolo. Site of the ancient Roman city of Tusculum. Compared with the ruins of Rome little now remains but the setting on a ridge overlooking both the Castelli and Rome is spectacular . Free admission. Guided tours in Italian at 10.00 on Sundays.
The theatre at Tuscolo
Velletri is on the southern edge of the Castelli. Inhabited by the Romans from 500 B.C.it is the largest town in the region and allegedly home of the world's first pawnshop in the 15th Century.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Castelli Romani
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Castelli Romani - updated May 2024
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Castelli Romani Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
