Lazio - Where to spend 2 days ?

Old May 4th, 2015, 05:35 AM
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Lazio - Where to spend 2 days ?

After 8 days in Umbria, Abruzzo and Molise, we would like to stay in a beautiful town in Lazio for two nights before dropping off our rental car in Rome. We will be driving into Lazio from Isernia to the south east. Any help with this challenge would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 07:00 AM
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Rather than Lazio, I would stay in Orvieto--actually in Umbria but close to Lazio. Try to see Civita di Bagnoregno from Orvieto as well. Take the back roads via Viterbo when you drive to FCO.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 01:22 PM
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Another option would be Viterbo in Lazio. Lots of Etruscan history, and it was a papal seat for a few decades. The town is a manageable size for a short visit and has several interesting piazzi and buildings, and there are a few interesting excursions nearby, including lakes, hot springs and Etruscan tombs. We most enjoyed Villa Lante just outside of Viterbo for its beautiful garden.

There are rental offices for AutoEurope, Kemwel, Avis and Hertz, if you wanted to drop the car there. The train ride Viterbo-Rome takes more time than Orvieto-Rome and involves at least one change. Trains to FCO involve two changes and overall would take about 45 minutes longer than driving.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 02:11 PM
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A great recommendation Bob and we totally agree having visited Orvieto and The amazing village of Bagnoregno before. In fact if I can't figure out where to visit in Southern or Eastern Lazio, I thought why not revisit Orvieto and have dinner at the wonderful Il Sette Consoli. The underground tours of the Etruscan caves, the wonderful Duomo, excellent food and wine have provided great memories.

On this trip, which is part of a long overdue trip, we are picking up a car in Chiusi and driving to Todi as a base for three days in that part of Umbria we have not visited. Then we drive to Pescosansonesco in the hills behind Pescara where we will stay at Tenuta Testarossa for four days venturing around Abruzzo. It looks wonderful and already we have had a great dialogue with the Pasetti Winery Family who provide that Agriturismo. Then on to Molise where we have found a new conveniently located hotel in the village of Isernia known as Residenze Porta Castello.

An Australian TV Cooking series by Sylvia Colluca created our interest to visit and venture around Molise.

So leaving Isernia, I thought, should we revisit Sorrento or Naples drop the car there, maybe a day trip to return to Capri or Pompeii and then train to Rome OR drive to Central Rome Budget Rental Car location via Southern or Eastern Lazio. So I started to look around places like Subiaco etc. I researched Lazio on This Forum to find little reported on the southern and eastern parts of Lazio.

Jean. Thank you for mentioning Viterbo. This will be a great idea to link to a visit down from the western part of coastal Tuscany that we have not previously visited. We like the wines from around Scansano, so next time we will probably come to Rome via Viterbo.

Thank you both. I would be most grateful for any further ideas that might be revealed here.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 04:28 PM
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You don't say what time of year this is.

My choice wouldn't be Naples/Sorrento/Capri/Pompeii for such a short stay, esp. as you've apparently already been there.

Have you been to the area of the Castelli Romani?

http://www.italia.it/en/travel-ideas...li-romani.html

Or Tivoli, Hadrian's Villa, Ostia Antica...?
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Old May 4th, 2015, 06:40 PM
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Hi Jean. We are traveling there mid to late August in what is part of a 6-7 week trip from Australia.

Quite a few years back we visited Tivoli and also Ostia Antica. Yes I agree - 2 days in Sorrento would be the last choice, but getting there via Vesuvius may be interesting and a return visit to Pompeii could be interesting as much has changed since we were there about 15v years ago.

Maybe we should drop the car to Naples or Sorrento then train to Naples and spend two days in Naples. I have always looked upon Naples as a rather challenging City though.

Generally my thought was to take close to a direct line from Isernia to Rome and when I looked at my large Atlas I found the Parco Naturale Monti Simbruini and many villages below that I thought may be interesting.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 08:05 PM
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I don't know your heat tolerance, but Pompeii/Vesuvius and Naples would be too uncomfortable for me in August.

"... a return visit to Pompeii could be interesting as much has changed since we were there about 15v years ago."

In my experience, returning to a place in Italy I visited several years ago is usually somewhat disappointing. Every place we re-visit in Italy is infinitely more crowded than it was years ago.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 03:07 AM
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I love very hot weather Jean. Its part of the Australian way of life. I have read through the work that has been done at Pompeii over the years and it seems to me that we should return in this lifetime for a further look. If we did go we would try to beat the herds. We are very much looking forward to a quieter time when visiting Molise and Abruzzo.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 04:06 AM
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For the last eight years we've been spending time in the Castelli Romani area about an hour south of Roma. We stay in a nice b&b called Il Melograno (the pomegranate) in Ariccia, which is famous for its porchetta romana (whole roast pig packed in salt and rosemary then baked).

A ten minute ride will take you to Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence. Ten minutes in the other direction is the gorgeous little town of Nemi. Nemi overlooks a volcanic lake and the area is beautiful.

From the main piazza in Ariccia you can see the Mediterranean Sea.

This is an area to go to relax and unwind.

Buon viaggio,
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Old May 5th, 2015, 12:30 PM
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Bolsena is quite pretty, and on a lovely lake. Roughly midway-ish between Viterbo and Orvieto.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 02:04 PM
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One of the prettiest little towns I've ever seen is Sermoneta in southern Lazio. It's very hard to get to without a car, which means many tourists just can't get there. Nearby, the gardens of Ninfa are a marvel, even if you're not a gardener. They were created in and around the ruins of a medieval town, and the effect is stunning. However, the gardens have very limited opening times.

http://www.fondazionecaetani.org/giardini.php

The foundation also manages the Caetani Castle in Sermoneta.

Even if the garden isn't open when you're there, there are other interesting things to see in the vicinity of Sermoneta. The town of Norma, on the edge of a high cliff, is on the site of the ancient city of Norba, where you can see the ruins of buildings, roads, and the city wall.

Sermoneta is also fairly near the Castelli Romani area.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 02:34 PM
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Sabine Hills? See if this is of any help; I never did go, though:



http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-near-rome.cfm
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Old May 6th, 2015, 08:02 PM
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Thank you all for your suggestions. I am looking into all that has been posted here and I have also been looking around the area and scenic roads leading to Sperlonga. However, coming from a land of no private beaches, beach clubs or Stabilimenti it may prove difficult to find a nice place to stay on the coastline of Lazio.
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Old May 7th, 2015, 05:26 PM
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Don't know your feelings about this, but on a recent trip from Roma to Amalfi Coast, we decided to visit the array of very beautiful resting places for the perished in the Anzio beachead battle. We had loved poking around Ostia's ruins, picked up our car there (on Easter Sunday, no less) and took leisurely drive down the coast road to Anzio/Netunno. In no tme, we found the well kept, tranquil and beautiful Ameican Cemetery. Closer to the beachead in Anzio, the Commonwealth cemeteries can be found. As Australians, I thought this might interest you.

We had also looked up a referenced restaurant in nearby Latina and hoped it would be open on Easter Sunday. It was and among many local families, we enjoyed a marvelous Holiday menu
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Old May 8th, 2015, 04:43 AM
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Anzio seems like a great recommendation between Sperlonga and Rome by car. Thank you tower I will take a detailed look.

I also like what I see and read about the Sabine Hills ekscrunchy. So I am going to look deeply into that for the two nights before Rome also. I will report back . Any other suggestions gratefully received and probably helpful to those who follow.
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