“When in Rome, do as the Romans do!”

For over 2000 years they have been travelling the short distance outside the eternal city to experience the beauty and freshness of the verdant hills known as the Castelli Romani.

Your tour will follow in their footsteps and quite literally into their houses.

Enjoy the rich and diverse flavors of the rustic cuisine of the roman countryside. A cuisine based on the fresh vegetables, grains and meats produced from the fertile soil of this volcanic range. Local DOC wines and virgin olive oils from the vineyards and olive groves which cover the rolling hills complement this rich gastronomy.

Experience the warm Italian hospitality of personalized meals in private homes, the lively atmosphere of local trattorias, and the refined ambience of the finest restaurants of the area.

You will not only visit historical sites of great relevance and interest, but savor a cultural and gastronomic legacy developed over untold generations. You will meet and spend time with locals whose warmth and cheerfulness is matched only by their pride in their cultural traditions and their willingness to share them.

You will be surrounded by a picturesque roman countryside virtually unknown to the international traveler and experience the comfort of a privately led tour. You will visit the bustling small medieval towns of Frascati, San Cesareo, Nemi, Genzano di Roma, Castel Gandolfo and Lanuvio.

Authentic and memorable. You will experience the Castelli Romani as Romans do.

Click here view photos of the villa accommodations!

Your itinerary

Day 1

• Transfer to Lanuvio.
• This ancient agricultural town overlooking vineyards and olive groves has its origins in the migrations occurring after the sack of Troy, in Greece, in the 11^thcentury BC and predates Rome’s founding by 200 years. Today it is known for its Colli Lanuvini DOC wines.
• Your elegant accommodations are on the grounds of a 19^thcentury country villa set among 60 hectares (130 acres) of vines, olive groves and gardens. The villa boasts panoramic views and offers country walks, a swimming pool and restaurant serving meals typical of the local cuisine.
• Your welcome dinner will be set in a noted restaurant located just below the town of Genzano di Roma. You will be offered traditional cuisine in the suggestive setting of a medieval cantina built on the site of an important military victory by the Roman general Marco Furio Camillo in 389 BC.

Day 2

• Morning walking tour, or “passeggiata” in Nemi a picturesque town that overlooks the small volcanic lake of the same name. Nemi is also famous for it's wild strawberries. Stop to taste the delicious strawberry dolci ( sweets from the town), or savor a traditional aperitivo of prosecco with wild strawberries.
• Lunch at a local Nemi trattoria.
• Afternoon visit to the site of ancient Tusculum which sits high on a rolling hill with sweeping views and explore the ruins of the villas of the ancient nobles. We will head downhill to the town of Frascati which is now one of the primary urban centers of the Castelli Romani and famous for its DOC white wine production.
• We will take an evening tour in Frascati and and enjoy an aperitivo of the local wine before dinner at a noted restaurant close by in the small town of Grottaferrata.

Day 3

• We will take a walk in the small medieval center of Lanuvio, rub elbows with the locals at the bar for a mid morning coffee, and visit the small but very interesting municipal museum.
• Lunch with friend and local chef Antonio in his characteristic trattoria serving typical Roman cuisine.
• In the afternoon we will visit points of interest around Lanuvio, including the 2200 year old “Ponte Loreto” bridge, the ruins of an ancient Roman “fattoria”, or agricultural farm, and visit a “frantoio” to see the process of turning olives into oil.
• Early evening we will enjoy a wine tasting at the winery of an award winning producer of Colli Lanuvini DOC wines.
• Dinner at your own leisure either at your accommodations or suggestions from your guide with transport included.

Day 4

• Morning walking tour in Genzano di Roma.
  
  Genzano is a vibrant town holding fast to the traditions of its historic past. One of the most important of these is the 3 day religious festival in June called the "Infiorata". People come from far and wide to see the floral patterns and pictorial representations using flower petals laid out in the main street of the historic center. Genzano is also famous in all Italy for its DOC bread, baked in wood fired ovens. We just happen to know where the best bakery in town is located, also.
• Then a quick trip down to lake level to visit the small but historically important Nemi museum.
• Lunch at a local eatery in Genzano.
• Late afternoon wine tasting followed by dinner in a noted restaurant in Castel Gandolfo. The restaurant’s cantina boasts 3000 wines.
  
  Enjoy a refined dining experience in an elegant atmosphere overlooking the Lake of Albano. The restaurant's selection of DOC wine is included

Day 5

• A visit to the market garden of a local contadino and sample his homemade wine, fruit based liqueurs and olive oil.
• Then, close by, we will lunch in the home of Signora Laura who, it must be said, has a passion for Roman cuisine interpreted in her own creative style. An expert in all phases of cooking , she is particularly noted for her “dolci”, or sweets.
• Afternoon excursion to Palestrina. You will explore this small yet important ancient town which is built over a huge ancient pagan temple complex. Today, excavations under Palestrina, a living museum, are ongoing.
• Dinner at a local osteria in San Cesareo.
  
  The small town of San Cesareo is situated in rich farm lands on the Via Labicana, an ancient road connecting the two important towns of the Roman period, Tusculum and Praeneste. It is also the site of the country villa of Julius Caesar.
  
  Our osteria serves a menu of the finest examples of Roman country cuisine. Pastas, polentas and soups. Meats, cheeses and seasonal vegetables, wild herbs and mushrooms. All accompanied by a selection of the finest wines of Lazio. The ingredients are all produced on agricultural land owned and managed by the osteria.

Day 6

• We travel one hour south to the coast and the town of Terracina and Circeo where, in Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey”, Ulysses is seduced by the sirens. You will visit the one piazza in all Italy with the original Roman marble pavement remaining. We will go up to the hilltop above the town to the recently restored Temple of Jupiter from where beautiful, panoramic views of the coastline extend both north and south.
• We will lunch with our friend Teresa in the garden of her home, the Villa Clara, just north of Terracina by the port of Badino. Teresa specializes in fish based recipes with the freshest of seasonal vegetables cooked with verve and originality.
• Late afternoon we will drive to the summit of Circeo headland to enjoy a relaxed aperitivo at sunset overlooking the Mediterranean.
• Dinner will be at your own leisure. You can dine at the accommodation's restaurant or your guide can make suggestions in Lanuvio.

Day 7

• Morning walk in Ariccia with a tour of the Chigi Palace and square designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
  
  The original furnishings of the palace have been preserved almost entirely and it also houses a large collection of masterpieces. In the 1960’s, the palace was the setting for the interiors of the film “The Leopard” by Luchino Visconti, starring Claudia Cardinale and Burt Lancaster.
  
  During the period of the Grand Tour, such illustrious travelers as Turner, Ibsen, Longfellow, Goethe and Gogol visited Ariccia.
• We will lunch outside the walls of the palace at a “fraschetta”, or local eating house.
  
  A wide variety of antipasti can be sampled, together with various pastas and meats. But the speciality of Ariccia is “porchetta”. Oven roasted and seasoned pork, this aromatic dish is allowed to cool to room temperature then eaten with delicious Genzano bread, along with seasonal vegetables. A favorite destination for Romans on a Sunday, a visit for porchetta in a fraschetta in Ariccia is an essential and enjoyably raucous dining experience in the Castelli Romani.
• Late afternoon there will be an opportunity for shopping.
• Farewell dinner at Lanuvio.
  
  Let your majordomo, Romeo, make suggestions from a comprehensive menu of meat and fish dishes of exquisite freshness and delicate preparation along with local DOC wines. You will enjoy it all in an intimate garden courtyard setting.

Day 8

• Transfer to Fiumicino airport or train station.

Tour Details

This tour is available any time throughout the year.

Contact us for prices and availability.

2010 Price Includes:

• 7 nights 8 days in elegant accommodations at Lanuvio.
• Breakfast served daily.
• Transfer to and from airport.
• Private transportation throughout your stay.
• English speaking coordinator and guide.
• Meals with local wine included where specified.
• 2 wine tastings.
• 2 personalized menus by locals in their homes.
• All guided excursions to Lanuvio, Frascati, San Cesareo, Nemi, Genzano di Roma, Castel Gandolfo and Terracina.
• Entrance fees to all museums visited.

How to get there:

Transfer to and from Fiumicino airport in Rome can be arranged.

From Rome's Termini Train Station you can arrive to Campoleone Station in 20 minutes. From there we will arrange your transfer.

Book the Eight Days in Castelli Romani Tour.