Roman Castles Private Tour from Rome, Lunch Transfer Included

The itinerary starts from Frascati, which offers, alongside the beauty of nature, the possibility of discovering traces of the history of this rich town with its glorious past, as evidenced by the splendid noble villas. The old town is dominated by the Cathedral of St. Peter, dating from the sixteenth century, having inside works of art worthy of note. Numerous and precious villas such as Villa Aldobrandini, Villa Falconieri, Villa Mondragone, Villa Torlonia and others, make it one of the most beautiful towns of the castles.

The tour continues with Grottaferrata, famous for its Abbey of S. Nilo, identified by scholars as to the Tusculanum of Cicero. The city is a large garden of nature trails and archaeological sites that are stored by the Romans on holidays and, especially, on the occasion of its most important anniversary: the patron saint's day on March 26.

Then we move on to Marino, a small wine capital where, during the traditional Grape Festival in October, wine flows from the seventeenth-century Fontana dei Mori. "Le fontane che danno vino" (The Fountains that give wine), as the Roman folk song says, is dedicated to the trip to the Castles on the occasion of the Grape Festival. The city of Marino rests on a vast network of caves, some communicating with each other, which are located about 12 meters below the road surface and develop for tens of kilometres in the subsoil of the Old Town. Their history is ancient: they were dug into the volcanic tuff to obtain building material already in the medieval period. The town of Marino flanks “Via dei Laghi” and is located on the crater occupied by Lake Albano. With a walk through the city, you can visit the Basilica of San Barnaba, at the centre of which stands a decorated nineteenth-century fountain. On the wide Piazza Garibaldi, you can see the small seventeenth-century church of S. Maria delle Grazie and the convent of the Suore domenicane. Built-in the seventeenth century, it incorporates the church of the Madonna del Rosario, with a circular plan and one of the most interesting rococo furnishings in Lazio. Famous is its Ciambella al Mosto, which can be tasted during the grape harvest.

The visit then continues with Castel Gandolfo or Castello, name in Roman dialect. The city is famous throughout the world for the presence of the summer residence of the Popes, around which there are many other summer residences, villas and cottages, making it one of the most famous resorts in Lazio. Its territory includes almost the entire coastal arch of Lake Albano, which also houses the Olympic Rowing Stadium. There are also various places of archaeological interest, including Diocletian's Palace and the late medieval walls, with beautiful views of the lake, In the centre of the city, there is Piazza della Libertà, adorned with a small fountain by Bernini, who also created S. Tommaso church.

Before returning to Rome, the tour ends with the visit of Ariccia, the city that invented and produced first the porchetta, a dish that became famous throughout the world as a product of high gastronomy and that has obtained the recognition IGP. In Ariccia, is not only produced porchetta but most of the meats of which are famous cities of the Castles. Not to be missed is the Porchetta di Ariccia Festival, held every year, since 1950, on the first Sunday of September: the programme includes the launch of pork sandwiches, food and wine exhibitions, musical performances and a lot of fun. The city of Ariccia also boasts an important architectural and cultural history. This city has seen all its buildings destroyed during the barbarian invasions and many of them were rebuilt by Bernini, such as the Chigi Palace and the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Assunzione.