Side Trips from Rome
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1. Palazzo Chigi
This is a true rarity: a Baroque residence whose original furniture, paintings, drapes, and decorations are largely intact. The Italian film director Luchino Visconti used the villa, which sits just at the end of Ariccia's famous bridge, for most of the interior scenes in his 1963 film The Leopard. The rooms of the piano nobile (main floor)—which, unlike Rome's Palazzo Chigi, are open to the public, but only on guided tours—contain intricately carved pieces of 17th-century furniture, as well as textiles and costumes from the 16th to the 20th century. The Room of Beauties is lined with paintings of the loveliest ladies of the day, and the Nuns' Room showcases portraits of 10 Chigi sisters, all of whom took the veil. You can get a close look (with a guide) at Le Stanze del Cardinale (Cardinal's Rooms), the suites occupied by the pleasure-loving Cardinal Flavio Chigi.
Piazza di Corte 14, Ariccia, Latium, 00072, Italy06-9330053Sight Details
€12 guided visit to piano nobile, Cardinal\'s Rooms, and Baroque Museum; €10 for self-visit; €2 park Rate Includes: Palazzo closed Mon. Park closed Oct.–Mar. -
2. Palazzo Farnese
When Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, Pope Paul III's grandson, retired to Caprarola, he intended to build a residence that would reflect the family's grandeur. In 1559, he entrusted the task to the leading architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, who came up with some innovative ideas. A magnificent spiral staircase, lavishly decorated with allegorical figures, mythical landscapes, and grotesques by Antonio Tempesta, connected the main entrance with the cardinal's apartments on the main floor. The staircase was gently inclined, with very deep but low steps, so that the cardinal could ride his horse right up to his bedchamber. A tour of the five-sided palatial villa includes the Hall of Farnese Triumphs, the Hercules Room, and the Antechamber of the Council of Trent, all painted by the Zuccari brothers. Of special interest is the Hall of the Maps, with the ceiling depicting the zodiac and the walls frescoed with maps of the world as known to 16th-century cartographers. The palace is surrounded by a formal Renaissance garden.
View Tours and ActivitiesPiazza Farnese 1, Caprarola, Latium, 01032, Italy0761-646052Sight Details
Rate Includes: €5, includes garden, Closed Mon. -
3. Poggio Le Volpi
Lazio's wines may not be as famous as those of Tuscany or Piedmont, but this award-winning family-run winery is leading the way for the region. The family's wine-making roots stretch back to 1920, but it was third-generation winemaker Felice Mergè who turned the winery into a destination with two restaurants: the casual Epos bistro and the fine-dining Barrique, where a tasting menu is served in the barrel aging room. Tours are available by appointment only, which means the best way to experience this place is to book a table at one of the restaurants and request a tour.
Via Fontana Candida 3/C, Monte Porzio Catone, Latium, 00078, Italy06-9426980Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tours available by appointment, Closed Mon. No dinner Sun. -
4. Pontifical Gardens Villa Barberini
In 2016, Pope Francis opened the 136-acre pontifical estate and its glorious gardens to the public. A 60-minute garden tour in an eco-friendly electric minibus takes in landscaped areas as well as the archaeological remains of the palace of the Roman Emperor Domitian (dating from the 1st century AD) and the home farm, which supplies the Vatican with fresh dairy products and eggs. Multilingual audio guides are included in the price.
Via Massimo D'Azeglio (entrance gate), Castel Gandolfo, Latium, 00073, ItalySight Details
Rate Includes: €12 gardens only; €19 gardens and Apostolic Palace; €20 gardens with minibus tour., Closed Sun. in Apr.–Nov., Reservations required -
5. Scavi di Ostia Antica
At its peak, the ancient port town at this site was home to a cosmopolitan population of rich businessmen, wily merchants, sailors, slaves, and their respective families. Great warehouses were built here in the 2nd century AD to handle goods that passed through, notably huge shipments of grain from Africa. Indeed, the port did so much business that it necessitated the construction of insulae (apartment buildings) to provide housing for the city's growing population. The increasing importance of nearby Portus and the inexorable decline of the Roman Empire eventually led to the port's abandonment. In addition, the coastline retreated over the millennia, and a 16th-century flood diverted the course of the Tiber. Tidal mud and windblown sand buried the ancient port town until the 19th century, when it was extensively excavated. You can wander through the massive archaeological site and explore its curious corners, mosaic floors, fallen columns, and huge Roman amphitheater. The on-site Museo Ostiense displays sculptures, mosaics, and objects of daily use found here. There's also an on-site cafeteria. The recently excavated ports of Tiberius and Claudius are nearby and also well worth visiting.
Viale dei Romagnoli 717, Ostia Antica, Latium, 00119, Italy06-56358099Sight Details
Rate Includes: €12, includes Museo Ostiense (small increase if there is an exhibition); free 1st Sun. of month, Closed Mon. -
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6. Terme dei Papi
Viterbo has been a spa town for centuries, and this excellent complex not far removed continues the tradition, providing health and beauty treatments with an Etruscan twist: try a facial with local volcanic mud or a steam bath in an ancient cave. The main draw, however, is the 21,000-square-foot outdoor limestone pool, into which Viterbo's famous 59°C (138°F) mineral water pours—and gives a jolt with its sulfurous odor. You can rent floats and deck chairs, but bring you'll need your own bathrobe and towel unless you're staying at the hotel. Tickets tend to sell out but can be booked online up to five days ahead of your visit. Shuttle buses operate between Rome's Piazza del Popolo and the terme on weekends and holidays. Round-trip tickets cost €12.
Strada Bagni 12, Viterbo, Latium, 01100, Italy0761-3501Sight Details
Rate Includes: Pool €18 weekdays, €25 weekends, Closed Tues. -
7. Villa Adriana
Set below the ancient settlement of Tibur, this astonishingly grand 2nd-century villa was an exclusive retreat, where the marvels of the classical world were reproduced for a ruler's pleasure. Hadrian, who succeeded Trajan as emperor in AD 117, was a man of genius and intellectual curiosity, fascinated by the accomplishments of the Hellenistic world. From AD 125 to 134, architects, laborers, and artists worked on his dreamy villa, re-creating some of the monuments and sights that the emperor had seen on his travels in Egypt, Asia Minor, and Greece. During the Middle Ages, the site was sacked by barbarians and Romans alike, and many of the statues and architectural features ended up in the Vatican Museums. Nonetheless, the colossal remains are impressive: the ruins rise in a garden setting of green lawns framed with oleanders, pines, and cypresses. Not surprisingly, Villa Adriana is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it's one that has not yielded up all its secrets. Archaeologists recently discovered the site of the Temple of Isis, complete with several sculptures, including one of the falcon-headed god Horus. A visit to the villa, which sits outside town, takes at least two hours (carry water on hot days); maps dispensed at the ticket office will help you get your bearings.
View Tours and ActivitiesLargo Margherite Yourcenar 1, Tivoli, Latium, 00019, Italy0774-19804Sight Details
Rate Includes: €10; free 1st Sun. of month Oct.–Mar. -
8. Villa d'Este
One of Italy's UNESCO World Heritage sites, Villa d'Este was created by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este in the 16th century. This villa in the center of Tivoli was the most amazing pleasure garden of its day, and it still stuns modern visitors with its beauty. Cardinal d'Este (1509–72), a devotee of the Renaissance celebration of human ingenuity over nature, was inspired by the excavation of nearby Villa Adriana. He paid architect Pirro Ligorrio an astronomical sum to create an extraordinary garden filled with nymphs and grottoes. In addition, the Aniene River was diverted to water the garden and feed the several hundred fountains that cascade, shoot skyward, imitate birdsong, and simulate rain. Note especially the musical Fontana dell'Organo, whose water dances to an organ tune every two hours starting at 10:30 am. Romantics will love the night tour of the gardens and floodlit fountains that takes place on Friday and Saturday in summer. Allow at least an hour for a visit, which involves steep inclines and many stairs. There are vending machines for refreshments by the bookshop.
Piazza Trento 5, Tivoli, Latium, 00019, Italy0774-332920Sight Details
Rate Includes: €10; free 1st Sun. of month Oct.–Mar.
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