CASTELLI ROMANI Review – Caligula and Papal Playground

CASTELLI ROMANI Review – Caligula and Papal Playground only minutes from Rome by fast commuter train, is a quick getaway with local charms

CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
On a drive to Castelli Romani from Rome you are often driving parallel to the ancient Appian Way
CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
On the road to Castelli Romani you see remnants of the Romans' remarkable aqueduct system
CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
The volcanic lakes in the Castelli Romani area have made it a draw for vacationers-- from Caligula, to the Vatican, and more
CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
Lesley Pritikin of the Divertimento Group (right) exchanges greetings with her old friend and Castelli Romani neighbor Trattoria La Rosa
CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
In the quaint town of Nemi, as in others in Castelli Romani, you find many small shops where the locals seem to gather
CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
Nemi is a capital of strawberries in Castelli Romani-- and Romans come here for the strawberry harvests
CASTELLI ROMANI ItalyCastelli Romani
The pork dish and pig wine at this Castelli Romani food truck is a local cheap eats delicacy

From a US framework, the Castelli Romani might be thought of as suburbs of Rome.  Indeed, you can hop a quick train from many of the small towns in the Castelli Romani that come as often as every ten minutes in peak hours and gets into Rome’s center in as short as eleven minutes. There are commuters, but there are also a sizable number of locals in these small towns who don’t venture to the big city much, preferring to both live and die in situ.

A tourist might try to take trains to Castelli Romani too.  You will be hard pressed though to get from point A to point B without a car.  Bringing a rental car has the downside of making it difficult to enjoy wines of the area, on hilly roads that are said to be especially dangerous at night, even for locals who know the dimly lit roads well.

Walk around a small town like Nemi for just a bit and you realize it is relatively under populated.  Hungry real estate investors take note.  We’re told that it is not unlike Miami, where older people die and their children then sell their homes for a relative song. In a different location and in a US urban context, these towns might have long ago been taken over by artists, and set on a path for update and gentrification.

Because that has not happened yet—nor likely will in the foreseeable future—a half-day or day trip to Castelli Romani promises a break from museum feet and brain overload taking in the equivalent of semester long college courses crammed into each day as you hop from one stellar Roman museum or historic site to another.

You will not be the first to find R&R in the Castelli Romani. Nobility came here regularly to get away from it all, as did the likes of Lord Byron, Goethe and more.  Think of all those Victorian novels of Brits making a winter escape to the more congenial clime of Italy—this is a likely spot they were referencing.

You will see the large papal complex Castel Gandolfo overlooking Lake Albano, one of the area’s volcanic lakes.  This is still a summer retreat for the Pope today.  You can in fact continue your touring looking at related sites and museums, but the better bet for the time-pressed visitor to Rome is just to think of this, as the papal retinue does,  as clean air quick getaway from the big city for a change of venue.

CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
Caligula, who liked to watch boat races on the lake, and was said to have a floating palace here.

The wicca-keen might also be drawn to the area for its historic roots to the pagan cult of Diana.  Caligula was, for one. You will see homages to Caligula who liked to watch boat races on the lake, and was said to have a floating palace here.  This legend was attractive to Mussolini, among others, who arranged for the lake to be drained to uncover these rumored riches in his drive to make regaining the grandeur of Rome his legacy. The two ships from Caligula’s time were moved to a museum, but again lost to history when the Nazis destroyed them.

Though you don’t get even a remote feeling of being in wine country as you would be overcome with when traversing from one vineyard to another in Tuscany,  the Castelli Romani’s first claim to fame in antiquity was for its wine.  High season travelers to Ciampino, usually on maps for its military airport that also provides runways for discount airlines like Ryanair, might be able to time their fall visit to when the town literally has wine running free from its fountains.

CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
One of the delicacies in Nemi is Prosecco with fresh strawberries, best enjoyed from a scenic restaurant rooftop

A traveler to Nemi might think that the town is all-Valentines Day-all-the-time because of the many pink and rose liqueur bottles you see being sold. Actually, these drinks are staples of the wild strawberry economy for which Nemi is known.  This small strawberries are tastier—both in and out of champagne glasses.  High season travelers can time their visit to Nemi’s strawberry festival in May or June.

CASTELLI ROMANI Italy
The food truck serves its pig wine in a plastic bottle you might expect to get water in

For lovers of food trucks and street food however this writer/photographer team suggests that THE  reason to visit Castelli Romani is for its famed secret recipe porchetta.  Grab a plate of sliced pork, a mountain of bread, and so-called “pig wine” served unceremoniously in small PET bottles usually used for water.  Better, time this for lunch hour so you can chat up the locals at nearby tables.  One way to get there is to hire Chicago-born now Castelli Romani local Lesley Pritikin of Divertimento Group, who likens enjoying the roadside porchetta sandwich  to eating an iconic Chicago hot dog.  Truth to tell, this food truck supplies their famed pork to many a restaurant in Rome, but there is much to be said for the roadside munch.

A private half-day tour to Castelli Romani with the Divertimento Group, including pick up from your Rome hotel, costs USD $300+/-. 

For more information, visit the Rethinking Italy website. 

Photos in this story are available with a CC 2.0 license.  For easy download and license information visit the Picture This Post Flickr page

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