The Locanda dei Castelli is the thoughtful result of a desire to transmit a philosophy of life that aims at fostering life’s simple pleasures and at re-discovering an easy, slower way of living.
We are located in the historical center of Rocca di Papa, a small town at the foot of Monte cavo, with wonderful panoramic views on Rome and Roman Castles

At breakfast gresh and genuine products await your awakening and will give you the energy you need to start off your day, ideally discovering the wonders to be found in the Castelli Romani…

In our rooms, instead of a television, you will find books and magazines that, together with the calming views from your windows, will gladden your stay and foster feelings that have been lost from our daily lives.

Rocca di Papa is located in the Regional Park Of The Roman Castles. You will enjoy walking through the Bavarian quarter and old city centre alleys, admiring the panoramic views on Rome and the Tuscolo hills, visiting the little churches and the geophysical museum, or walking up to the top of the Cavo mountain where you will discover the ancient path of Via Sacra (ancient Roman road) and admire the view on both the lakes of Albano and Nemi; in the evening you will satisfy your palates in the numerous restaurants which offer Roman ethnic food together with the famous castles wines.
The area of the Roman Castles offers many possibilities of relaxation, from the enogastronomic journeys, to the art of the Tuscolan Villas Of Frascati, to the walks along panoramic paths, to the relaxation on the banks of the lakes Albano and Nemi.
Rocca di Papa is about 8 km from Castel Gandolfo (Pope's summer residence), 10 km from the Ciampino airport and 20 from the center Rome.


Rocca di Papa
Brief history and anecdotes

Surmounted by Mount Cavo, it is located 730 metres above sea level.
The Rocca (Rock) was a fortification built on the ruins of the ancient city of Cabum and was a favourite dwelling place of Pope Eugene III (1145-1152), which is how Rocca di Papa got its name.
In the period between the end of the 1800’s and the first few decades of the 1900’s, the city welcomed famous persons from the fields of culture and cinema; in the past many writers such as Goethe and Hans Christian Andersen sojourned there.
In 1906 the Rocca di Papa funicular was inaugurated, which initially worked by means of a series of water basins connected to a counterpoise, while from the mid-1930’s until its last trip at the beginning of the 1960’s it worked by electricity.
The heart of the city is a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys that suddenly make room for panoramic vistas of the Tuscolo hills and the “Eternal City”.
Right in the heart of the city, in Piazza Garibaldi, there is a fountain that in view of its particular workmanship could be the work of the great 1600’s sculptor, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Not to be missed is the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo, dated 16th century. Inside is a work attributed to Perin del Vaga.
As you go uphill, you come to the quaint medieval area, built by Ludovico il Bavaro in 1328, and the little Church del Crocefisso is at the center (http://www.hurricane.it/castelliromani/roccadipapa/crocifisso.html).
The highest part of the area is called “the Fortress”, as it was the refuge of Pope Eugene III. Here, in the most panoramic part of the city, the dominant building is the seat of the Geodynamic Observatory, which from 1922 to 1935 witnessed the scientific experiments conducted by Guglielmo Marconi on radio transmissions, and which is now a teaching museum (http://museoroccadipapa.ingv.it).

A path leads from the Fortress to the highest hill in the area, Mount Cavo, a pleasant walk, made all the more enjoyable by the coolness of the chestnut grove.
Since 1989, the city of Rocca di Papa is twinned with Landsberg am Lech, in Baviera, (Germany), the splendid medieval city located along the Lech River and crossed by the Romantische Straße.

Cooking has remained simple and home-style and the heady scents of field herbs and wood-burning fires waft from the kitchen. Specialties include porcini mushrooms, royal agric mushrooms (ovoli), peppers and above all "sfogatelli" (mushrooms); the characteristic main dish is polenta (thick corn mush) with sausages or spare ribs.

Castelli Romani

“È mejo della sciampagna
er vino de ‘sti colli...” (“It’s better than champagne, the wine of these hills...”)
These lines are sung in one of the most famous Roman ditties, and most Romans and many visitors have been convinced of this for some time. The capital’s restaurants have always been flooded with wines from Frascati and Marino. On Sundays, thousands of Romans and non-Romans climb up to the Colli Albani, seeking cool air and broad panoramas. Restaurants and eateries open their doors, as well as the “fraschette”, typical locales in which you buy your wine but you bring your food from home. But the Castelli also have much more to offer. About twenty kilometres from Rome the hills that reach 949 metres above sea level with Mount Cavo also include Lake Albano and Lake Nemi and offer panoramas that include the Apennines and the coastline. Thanks to the fertile volcanic soil, for centuries the flora of the Castelli is well known for its variety. Mediterranean scrub and beech and chestnut groves and pastures are situated side by side with the famous vineyards of Frascati, Lanuvio, Genzano and Marino.
Perpetually linked to the events surrounding the birth of Rome, the Colli Albani saw the construction of the villas belonging to Cicero and Emperor Domiziano; in the Middle Ages they were the feudal property of the Counts of Tuscolo; from the Renaissance onwards they witnessed the power of the families belonging to the Roman nobility. In the 1800’s Goethe, Byron and Gogol sang its praises.

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