What to do when you finally leave the estate.
Most of our guests spend their first two or three days not leaving the property at all. We take that as a compliment. But when you do venture out, the area around our villa delivers some of central Italy’s best experiences — and most of them are places that international visitors haven’t found yet.
Here’s what we actually recommend, from personal experience.
Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola — 45 minutes
The best Renaissance building most people have never heard of. Cardinal Farnese commissioned it in the 1530s, and the pentagonal plan, frescoed state rooms, and terraced gardens are genuinely world-class. We send every guest here, and not one has come back disappointed.
Practical tip: go early. By noon in high season, the rooms fill up. The gardens alone are worth the drive.
Stifone Natural Swimming, Narni — 40 minutes
A river gorge on the Nera with turquoise water so clear that boats look like they’re floating in air. It’s where local families have swum for generations, and it’s barely on any tourist map.
The walk-in is short. Bring grip-soled shoes and food — there’s nowhere to buy anything once you’re there. Weekday mornings in June or September give you the gorge almost to yourself. July weekends, less so.
Orvieto — 35 minutes
The closest major hill town and one of the most dramatic in all of Italy. It rises from a sheer tufa cliff, and the cathedral façade is one of the finest examples of Italian Gothic you’ll find anywhere. The underground city is genuinely interesting, not a tourist gimmick.
Our suggestion: drive over in the morning, park below, take the funicular up, walk the old town, have lunch, and be back at the villa by mid-afternoon. Half a day, perfectly spent.
Lake Vico Nature Reserve — 50 minutes
A volcanic crater lake at 500 metres in the Cimini Mountains. No motorboats allowed, almost no tourism. Ancient beech forests, walking trails, and the kind of quiet that’s becoming genuinely rare this close to a major city.
The scenic loop around the lake via Ronciglione takes under an hour and passes through some of the best countryside in Lazio. Swimming in designated areas is excellent.
Viterbo & Terme dei Papi — 45 minutes
Viterbo is a walled medieval city with a Gothic papal palace and an intact historic core that rivals Siena but without the crowds. The Thursday market in the piazza is one of the most authentic in the region.
Combine it with the Terme dei Papi thermal baths just outside town — one of Italy’s largest outdoor thermal pools, fed by volcanic springs, comfortable year-round. Go to Viterbo for the morning, the baths for the afternoon. You’ll sleep well that night.
Assisi — 90 minutes
Further afield, but utterly worth it. Giotto’s frescoes in the Basilica of San Francesco are one of the turning points of Western art, and the town itself — built in pink Subasio stone on a mountainside — is one of Italy’s most moving places.
Our advice: either go early and leave by lunch, or stay through the evening. Assisi between 10 AM and 5 PM belongs to tour buses. Before and after, it belongs to you.
Rome — 50 minutes
You know what’s in Rome. What you may not know is how much better a day in Rome feels when you’re not staying there. Leave the villa early, arrive fresh, spend an unrushed day at the two or three sites that matter to you, and come back in the evening to a glass of wine on the terrace.
No luggage, no traffic-noise hotel, no trying to find dinner at 10 PM in a tourist zone. Just Rome, done well, then home. Our guests consistently say it’s the best way they’ve ever experienced the city.
The Local Hill Towns — from 10 minutes
Magliano Sabina is our nearest town — medieval walls, a morning market, good coffee, and views that explain why people have been settling on hilltops here for millennia. Beyond it, Amelia, Orte, Civita Castellana, and Narni are each within an hour and each worth a slow morning.
These aren’t tourist destinations. They’re living in Italian towns. That’s what makes them interesting.
