THE SPLENDID ROME COUNTRYSIDE
Self catering accommodation. Country side living. Luxury, Mid High class holiday villas and apartments.

The rental of a villa in Rome's Surroundings instead of downtown is worthy of consideration for a holiday longer than one week.
In fact visitors come to see only the ancient monuments that silently evoke history of the greatest center of Western civilization, so the Rome's surroundings, a beautiful area off the beaten tracks which is often not very well known even by its own inhabitants, stay often forgotten.
Rome boasts a wonderful countryside, which few other European capitals can do, along with its many monuments, panoramic views and world-renowned squares.
One of the characteristics of this area is that it preserves traces of diverse historical eras: Etruscan and Roman ruins alternate with typically medieval small towns where baroque churches stand next to examples of 18th century architecture and at least to one imposing or even magnificent palace which belonged to noble Roman families. A rich example of this is the Castelli Romani District where each town, from Ariccia to Frascati, Marino, Grottaferrata etc. preserves all that to this day.
After a first week in Rome, let's discover the Roman countryside and its traditions from the perfect base that will be your villa located in the belt around the Aetermal City. North or South of Rome, we recommand.
From north to south, from the coast to the mountains, there is something for everyone: nature, art and itineraries combine the pleasure of good food to a plunge into history. By following the routes of the ancient consular roads, visitors will be able to discover an architectural heritage which goes hand in hand with an age-old culinary tradition and a great variety of local products.
A Highway 60 km long encircles Rome. Just out of this the town grows and somewhere meet the small satellite villages where people speaks another slang and the life still elapse on the benches of the main square or in the orchards or with the herd or in the open market.

Via Cassia and Via Clodia follow the tracks of the ancient consular roads which penetrated Etruscan territory, a rustic countryside which mysteriously hides necropolises and ancient ruins, mainly Etruscan.
The territory produces good extra virgin oil, DOC wines, mushrooms, scented truffles and cattle breeding.
The woods are home to plentiful families of wild boars.
Another tradition are the ancient acorn-bearing oaks of the Treja valley, which fed, over one thousand years ago the pigs bred in the large fortified papal farm to supply the Rome market.
The presence of the Bracciano and Martignano lakes has meant that these inland territories have sweet-water fish (tenches, pikes, eels, and coregons) in their diets based.

THE PARK OF VEIO
Along the Via Cassia, just in the outskirts of Rome, is the Regional park of Veio, with the Etruscan city of Veio, the medieval town of Isola Farnese, the church of San Pancrazio dating back to the 16th century, with 4th century frescoes.
The Museum of the Agro (countryside) Veientano is hosted in Palazzo Chigi, in Formello, close to the Romanic church of San Lorenzo. Sacrofano is the only town within the Rome province where traces of an ancient Jewish ghetto survive.
Set in an exceptionally beautiful nature visitors can see, apart from the ruins of Veio, other important historical vestiges as well as modern and vital vines, large farms, towns and roads.
The park is very large and includes: the towns of Campagnano di Roma, Castelnuovo di Porto, Formello, Magliano Romano, Mazzano Romano, Morlupo, Riano, Rome and Sacrofano, each with its own natural beauties and monuments to see.
In the area between Campagnano and Formello, the countryside becomes much more wild: this area is known as the Valle del Sorbo. A castle has protected the adjoining town since the 10th century; on the latter's ruins, at the beginning of the 15th century, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sorbo was founded. It is perched on a spur of rock overlooking some stunning scenery. In Formello, close to the Romanic church of San Lorenzo, the Museum of Agro (countryside) Veientano is hosted in Palazzo Chigi, the ancient municipal building.

The Via Clodia towards the Bracciano and Martignano lakes
The Bracciano and Martignano lakes, a beautiful natural and historic environment protected as Park of the lake of Bracciano and Martignano, surrounded by the Monti (mountains) Sabatini are rich of Roman archaeological sites, such as the small town of Vicarello, near Trevignano, located in a thermal area which was known - and used - for its beneficial properties in Roman time too.
Bracciano, Anguillara and Trevignano are small Medieval charming fishermen towns along the lake shores of lake Bracciano. Buildings from between the 11th century and the Renaissance line their narrow roads, from which beautiful glimpses of the lake can be seen. Shops and artisan laboratories, although modern in appearance, survive here and recall the towns' past.
Bracciano' s medieval church of San Liberato whose bell tower, dating back to the 11th century, is one of the oldest in Lazio, is particularly noteworthy.
The Roman small town of Vicarello, near Trevignano, the medieval church of San Liberato, the church of the Assunta in Trevignano, with its Raphael-school frescoes, and the Odescalchi castle in Bracciano are all noteworthy for their beauty, characteristic examples of fortified renaissance residences.
The vegetation close to the lake is marked by the characteristic reed thickets where several types of birds live, including wild ducks. Families of nutrias live in a bay close to Trevignano.
Lake Bracciano has been Rome's water basin since ancient times.
Oak trees and chestnut woods cover the Monti Sabatini, alternated to olive trees, fields and pastures. The woods are also home to the rare wild cat, beavers, beech martens, nutrias, and offer the chance to take many enjoyable walks.
The surrounding nature is luxurious and the scenery, quiet and attractive, is relaxing.
A few kilometres away from Bracciano, the Natural oasis of the Macchia Grande of Manziana is an image of what the flourishing vegetation, which originally covered the area between the Monti Sabatini and the Monti della Tolfa, must have been like. It is rich in age-old trees, including Turkey oaks.
Close by is also the Caldara di Manziana Natural Monument, where sulphureous pools of gas and water, at a temperature of 20°C, spring from earth.
Half way between the Monti Sabatini and the Monti della Tolfa is the Nature Reserve of Monterano where the suggestive ruins of the city of Monterano emerge. The city was suddenly abandoned in 1656 because of a plague epidemic and was destroyed by the French in 1799.