About Rome and Frascati

MORE ABOUT THE CASTELLI ROMANI DISTRICT....

The Castelli Romani hill towns, of ancient and medieval origin, are celebrated for their lush green scenery, volcanic lakes, genuine and abundant cuisine, and local white wines.

Rome is situated on a plain at the edge of a vast volcanic area. Some of ancient Rome's most important building materials were of volcanic origin. The tufa, peperino and basalt you still see today in the Roman ruins came in part from the area of the Roman hill towns. While you enjoy the stunning vistas of Lake Albano and Lake Nemi you will actually be looking at sunken volcanic craters surrounded by green slopes. Frascati is the biggest of the Castelli Romani hill towns, Nemi the smallest.

Frascati, Monte Porzio Catone and Marino are famed for the aristocratic Roman villas built in the vicinity of the towns and also for their white wine, but every town of the Castelli Romani boasts its own wine production. Castel Gandolfo produces wonderful peaches in summertime.

In Ancient Rome, the area we now call the Castelli Romani became, along with Tivoli, one of the preferred spots near the city for wealthy Romans to build their country villas. In medieval times, the towns became the domains of various powerful land-owning families. Many of these families also controlled the fortunes of Rome and the papacy during this epoch.

The town of Castel Gandolfo became the property of the popes. Toward the middle of the 16th and into 17th and 18th centuries, aristocratic Romans began to emulate the ancients and build luxurious villas in and around the Castelli Romani hill towns.

 

The popes decided that they, too, should have a country villa in the Roman hill towns, and the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo is the result. Part of the papal palace and gardens are built over the ruins of a Roman emperor's villa, bearing witness to the continuity of Rome's history.

In the summer, when the Pope is on vacation at Castel Gandolfo, weekly papal audiences may be scheduled on Wednesday mornings. On summer Sundays, at noon, the Pope may recite the Angelus prayer and impart his blessing.Both events are held in the courtyard of the papal palace and are open to the public, so it is possible to combine a private day tour through the Castelli Romani hill towns with an opportunity to see the Pope at a papal audience and to receive the papal blessing. If you appreciate fine food and wine, you can savor the local cuisine and taste the prized wine in a trattoria or restaurant in the area, either a family-run establishment or a more upscale locale. Some of these restaurants are housed in centuries-old rustic buildings with dining areas situated on shady green terraces or patios in the warmer months.

Frascati

Frascati is the most well-known of the Castelli Romani and the most visited full of shops, wine cellars, wine bars, pizzerias, restaurants, tarttorias and ice-cream parlours. Undoubtedly one of the town's greatest accomplishments is the white wine Frascati produced here. This vintage dry fine wine, crisp, pale yellow and fresh, is appreciated and distributed worldwide.

Frascati is really worth of attention due to its patrimony of natural and artistic treasures. Its origin dates, back to the year 1191 after Tusculum (see below) was put to fire and sward. The Tusculum survivors abandoned it and went to live below, at the hamlet then known as frascata the bowery.

Frascati is the best known of the so-called "Castelli Romani". In fact, when people speak about Castelli Romani they are often thinking of Frascati, and this is even more true in regard of the wine, for its golden wine is the best known of the Castelli vintages. Innumerable are the "cantine" (wine-making companies or cellars) that make excellent and renowed wines that are exported all over the world. The wine known as "Frascati" is a "proven origin wine" (vino a denominazione di origine controllata).

The pastry of Frascati is equally well known: "pupazze" are honey cakes shaped like men, women and animals. The women are always given three breasts, probably a memory of some ancient fertility cult. Common people say two breasts are for milk and one for wine :) Also well known are the wine biscuits.

Yet it is not only the wine that has given the town its fame, for there are also its panorama reaching in the clear days from the Tyrrhenian sea to the Sabine Hills, and patricians villas in marvellous parks and over Rome. Sumptuous villas were built on the slopes of Mount Tuscolo already in ancient times: Lucullus and Cicero had villas here.

Villas in Frascati

Villa Torlonia, which is now a public domain, contains a splendid Water Theatre built by Carlo Maderno. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the old original building as the bombing of the 2nd world war razed it to the ground.

Villa Aldobrandini is the most illustrious example of Mannerist architecture. It acts as a theatrical backdrop to the visitors of Frascati. It was built at the end of the sixteenth century for Cardinal Aldobrandini by Giacomo Della Porta, Carlo Maderno and Giovanni Fontana. It contains magnificent rooms with paintings by the Zuccari brothers, the cavalier d'Arpino and Domenichino. Its splendid grounds are adorned with statues, grottoes, fountains and waterfalls.

Villa Falconieri (on the road to Tuscolo), designed by Borromini, is the most exquisite and refined example of Baroque art. It has rich frescoes and a vast park.

Villa Tuscolana (also on the road to Tuscolo) was built in the seventeenth century by Vanvitelli.Thanks to its strategic position on the Tusculum hillsides the Villa enjoy a breathtaking vista of Rome.

Villa Mondragone (on the road to Monte Porzio Catone) was erected for the Cardinal Altemps in 1572. It was begun by Longhi at the ned of the sixteenth century and was continued by Vasanzio, Rainaldi, and Ponzio. It now belongs to the 2nd Rome University of Tor Vergata.

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In the centre of the town is the Cathedral Church of St. Peter Apostle with an eighteenth century facade by Girolamo Fontana. Henry Stewart, Cardinal Duke of York, was bishop of Frascati and is buried in this cathedral. The picturesque fountain in the square is also by G. Fontana.The Church of the Jesus is attributed to Pietro da Cortona.

A drive of 5 km from Frascati takes to the mount Tuscolo. On the hill (610 m) stood ancient Tusculum. It is said to have been funded by Telegono, Ulysses's son and the sorceress Circe. From the Roman period we can see an amphitheatre, the remains of the forum, and a well preserved theatre, the cistern, and an arch topped with a metal cross. This summit gives a wide view of the surrounding mountains, the Castelli, and the Roman countryside.Frascati houses the most important scientific centres in Italy that found here calm and peace only a few minutes from Rome: the INFN, the ENEA (the Italian Alternative Energy Authority) the CNR (Italy's National Research Council) and the ESA (the European Space Agency).

Castel Gandolfo

Castel Gandolfo is the summer residence of the Pope; an attractive hill-town dominated by the Papal Palace and its extensive gardens. The historic town centre is charming, and there are lovely views over Lake Albano.

Genzano di Roma
Genzano, which is above the crater of Lake Nemi, has a pleasant main shopping street, and a tourist information kiosk (limited opening) on its main square. Nearby is a pretty fountain with carved columns. Behind the church of S. Maria della Cima, uphill from the centre, is a belvedere with views over the lake. Genzano's grandest building is a ducal palace - Palazzo Sforza Cesarini (17th-18th century) . The town is well-known for its Corpus Christi floral displays. Can be reached by Cotral bus from Rome and Frascati.

Albano Laziale

Albano Laziale, at the end of the Castelli Romani railway line, is a busy town with a lengthy history. On a steep slope leading up to the Lake Albano crater, Albano's Roman ruins include a grass-covered arena, bits of fortified wall and town gates, and the ruined Baths of Caracalla, later converted into a church.

Ariccia

Ariccia is known for its pork ("porchetta") - stuffed with garlic, rosemary, other herbs and spices and roasted whole on the spit. The small town's greatest sight is the seventeenth-century Palazzo Chigi, designed by Bernini for Pope Alexander VII. A grand Baroque palace, it dominates its attractive piazza. The extravagant period interior is open to the public. Some of the scenes of the movie " Il Gattopardo" by Luchino Visconti were filmed here.

Grottaferrata

Is famous for the Byzantine Greek Abbey of Saint Nilus worth visiting.The history of Grottaferrata identifies largely with that of the Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria, founded here in 1004 by Saint Nilus the Younger. The founding legend narrates that, at the spot where the abbey now stands, the Virgin Mary appeared and made him found a church in her honour.The Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata has several courts, which lead to the famous portico designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, with an arcade of nine bays supported by slender columns with Renaissance capitals.

Marino
In October there is the famous Grape Festival in Marino famous for wine production. Monte Porzio Catone with Diffused Museum of Wine

Nemi

Nemi is renowned for its tiny wild strawberries ("fragoline"), an authentic springtime delicacy and for its the magic Lake Nemi with the Roman Ship Museum