Sunday October 23rd
Agriturismo Agropolis houses some of it’s guests in the main house, and some in another house behind it. We were in the back room of the guest house. It has a front porch and a big side balcony with plenty of room to sit and enjoy the almost Roman air. The living room has a full fridge, a table to dine at, and a baby’s crib should you need it. The bedroom has a double bed and 2 singles. The grounds are the real treat for a vacationer. The swimming pool is nice though we’ve seen a few of those, it’s the little soccer field with goals and a ball, and the first private paved basketball court I’ve seen in Italy. We played a quick game of “21" before we got on the road. They grow olives and grapes for oil and wine, and they do it organically. The breakfast was nice, with the typical breads and jams, but they also offered a nice assortment of biscottis and toasts. The location is nice to explore the area south or Rome, and the grounds are peaceful enough to not explore anything if you don’t want to.
Lanuvio is literally just around the corner, so we made it our first destination. It was famous for the Temple of Juno Sospita, but I didn’t realize how past tense the “was famous” meant. As far as we could find there wasn’t anything left of it but a couple of walls. The Fontana degli Scogli was nice, but set in a square that lacked any real pop. The remains of the Temple of Hercules let you see how massive it once was. Lanuvio isn’t really a destination town, but it’s proximity to a number of other places makes it a nice stop off.
Frascati is one of those places. Famous for it’s wine, Romans come here on the weekends to enjoy it and stroll around. This must have been the place for wealthy Romans to build their weekend homes, as there are a ton of Villas around. From the main square your eyes automatically fix on the Villa Aldobrandini. It is huge and holds a truly commanding spot on the hill. I wish we could have walked around inside. The Villa Torliona sits next to the main square and was apparently bombed out. So I didn’t even see any remains of a Villa but the grounds are used as a public park, and there were plenty of young families taking advantage. Besides the jungle gym, the Theater of Fountains is the best thing to search out. 5 Km away is Tuscolo, which was reported to have one of the nicest panoramas in Italy. For us it was mostly just haze, but you could tell that on a clear day it would be very nice.
Fiuggi is the place to be if you are suffering from kidney stones. The mineral waters relieved Michelangelo of what he called "the only kind of stone I couldn't love." Outside of the waters, Fiuggi is a nice hill town. The former Grand Hotel that is now the Municipal theater is architecturally bold, and the Piazza in front of it was full of young families. I’ve heard that the population in Italy is declining, but I don’t know how that is possible with all of the babies we see everywhere. There weren’t really too many things to search out, but the tiny lanes offered nice strolling. We met a boisterous 9 year old that thought it very odd that Americans eat eggs for breakfast. She also told us that Americans and English people were all pretty much the same. I told her that Italians and Greeks were pretty much the same, then I realized that I was talking crap to a 9 year old, so we let it be. Our agriturismo was very very close to Rome, so much so that without traffic a 15 minute drive took you door to door with the Vatican. There is a “park and ride” equivalent where you can leave your car and train into the city. Parking in Rome isn’t the easiest, so this is a great option. They told me that they didn’t need the publicity, so I’m going to respect their wishes and not give them any. So no name or web address, just know that there are places close to the big cities where you can get the country house experience and price, and still be able to run in and see the big city sites.
Because we were so close we decided to go in for a little while and eat at one of our favorite Italian restaurants “L’Isola della Pizza” on Via degli Scipioni, just off of Via Ottaviana, which is just down from the Vatican. There is a fun atmosphere, and it’s always full of people.
The Vatican looks even bigger when it’s lit up and completely devoid of people. The Spanish steps were hopping as always, and the Trevi fountain was as full of flower peddlers as it was water. But we’re not dealing with Rome, so let’s leave it there.

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