6 Best Sights in Side Trips from Rome, Italy

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.

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.

The distinctive castle, easily spotted as you come off the footbridge from the train station and part of the medieval borgo (old town), was built in 1483 by the future Pope Julius II when he was the cardinal bishop of Ostia. The structure's triangular form is unusual for military architecture, but it was strategically placed for defense when the Tiber River still flowed below its walls. After crossing a drawbridge to gain access the castle's interior, you'll find a small exhibit of historical sketches on the second floor.

For centuries, the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo was the summer retreat of popes, who kept the papal villa and extensive grounds completely private. Luckily for tourists, Pope Francis decided that he was too busy to use it and had it opened to the public. Inside you can view the Gallery of Pontifical Portraits, ceremonial garments, and the imposing papal throne in the Sala degli Svizzeri. The private area of the palace with the pope's bedchamber, his library, study, and offices are also open to visitors.

This Gothic palace was built in the 13th century as a residence for popes looking to get away from the city. At the time, Rome was notoriously ridden with malaria and the plague, not to mention rampaging factions of rival barons. In 1271 the palace was the scene of a novel type of rebellion. A conclave held that year to elect a new pope dragged on for months. The people of Viterbo were exasperated by the delay, especially as custom decreed that they had to provide for the cardinals' board and lodging for the duration of the conclave. To speed up the deliberations, the townspeople tore the roof off the great hall where the cardinals were meeting, and put them on bread and water. A new pope—Gregory X—was elected in short order.

Today, you can visit the great hall, step out on the pretty loggia, and admire the original frescoes in the small adjoining room. An audio guided tour is free with the purchase of a ticket and lasts 45 minutes, starting from Museo del Colle del Duomo.

The main draw of the sweet but underwhelming village of Bagnaia is the hillside garden and park that surround the two small, identical residences. They were both built in the 16th century but by different owners and more than 30 years apart. The first belonged to Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara. Cardinal Alessandro Montalto built the second and commissioned the virtuoso architect Giacomo Barozzi (circa 1507–73)—who was known as Vignola and who later worked with Michelangelo on St. Peter's—to design a stunning garden filled with grottoes, fountains, and immaculately manicured hedges.

An adjacent untamed park contrasts with the symmetry of the formal gardens, where the lowest terrace has a centerpiece fountain fed by water channeled down the hillside. On another terrace, water runs through a groove carved in the long stone table where the cardinal entertained his friends, chilling wine in the running water. It's just one of the whimsical water features that were devised for the cardinal.