EXPLORING THE PRENESTINI MOUNTAINS

Astroll through the ruins of an ancient temple, the sight of a fabulous sunset over Rome from the heights of the Prenestine Mountains, a walk in the green countryside among olive groves and vineyards after admiring a wonderful view from the highest town in Latium: these are the beauties that await you in the area along the Casilina and Prenestina roads. Southeast of Rome, fifteen municipalities that include some of the prettiest towns in the province of Rome offer a unique mix of art, culture, traditions, food and wine. The itinerary we suggest here is only one of the many you can follow in this area. Starting from Rome’s ring road, for example, we can take the Rome-to-Naples throughway to the Valmontone exit, in the Sacco River Valley. Valmontone has long been known for its 17th-century Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and the church of St. Mary of the Assumption (built over the remains of a 12th-century Gothic church), but its fame recently reached new heights thanks to the Fashion District Outlet and the amusement park “Terra Magica,” still partly under construction. At Valmontone, we take the Via Casilina toward Rome and shortly come to Labico, the ancient Lugnano. Perched on a tufa plateau, it still has the characteristics of a medieval town, though the main buildings were remodeled in the 17th century by the local magnates, the princely Barberini family. After admiring the remains of the Lugnano Castle’s two towers and the arnari (vats carved out of the bedrock and used in pressing grapes), we’ll be sure to take a look at Palazzo Giuliani, first built in the 16th century as a stop along the Via Casilina where stage-coaches could obtain fresh horses. Continuing on the Casilina toward Rome, at fewer than 9 km from Labico we come to San Cesareo, one of Italy’s newest townships (it was separated from Zagarolo in 1990). San Cesareo is young, but its history goes way back. According to scholars, the area where present-day San Cesareo lies was the location of the Statio ad Statuas post station, 18 miles from Rome on the ancient Via Labicana. The station is marked on the Peutinger Tabula, a famous world map dating from the third or fourth century A.D. The name Statio ad Statuas referred to the many statues erected in the area in ancient times. From San Cesareo, we head away from the Sacco Valley toward the Via Prenestina and the Prenestine Mountains. It’s just a short drive to Zagarolo, one of the most picturesque towns in the Roman Hills. It arose on a long tufa ridge in the early Middle Ages, but is characterized by the flamboyant Mannerist ornamentation of its gateways. Zagarolo was the birthplace of the world-famous composer Goffredo Petrassi, who died only a few years ago. In the 1960s and ‘70s, so many movie actors and directors bought homes here that the town was jokingly dubbed “Zagarolowood.” The 16th-century Palazzo Rospigliosi, adorned with frescos by the Zuccari brothers, is well worth a visit; one of its wings hosts a Toy Museum, the largest of its kind in Europe. A few miles down the road from Zagarolo to Rome, we reach the crossing where it meets the Via Prenestina coming from Rome. Turning right here onto the Prenestina (the modern road follows the route of the ancient one), we drive through a sort of canyon cut through the tufa rock, noting on one wall the tiny chapel dedicated to St. Mary of Cavamonte. After more curves, the road passes through a second spectacular canyon and brings us to the charming town of Gallicano nel Lazio. Here, immersed in a stunning wild landscape, we can follow a unique archaeological itinerary to see the remains of four ancient Roman aqueducts - the Anius Vetus, Aqua Marcia, Anius Novus and Aqua Claudia - that bridged the Gallicano area’s valleys on huge arches that are still well preserved: Ponte della Bulica, Ponte Pischero, Ponte Caipoli and Ponte Taulella (some of which we can actually walk across). Our excursion ends at the beautiful tenth-century castle of Passerano. From Gallicano, the road climbs higher and higher, through other towns, until it reaches San Gregorio da Sassola, overlooking a wild and luxuriant landscape. The town has a medieval section and a 17th-century section, separated by the beautiful Brancaccio Castle. San Gregorio is famous for its excellent olive oil, of which great quantities are used to prepare preserved vegetables.

Returning downhill to Gallicano, or driving straight on from Zagarolo, we follow the thread of history to Palestrina, the ancient Praeneste. Founded on the slopes of Mt. Ginestro in the seventh century B.C., Praeneste was famed far and wide for its sanctuary of the goddess Fortuna Primigenia, a divinity of oriental origin. Most of the remains of this huge structure were buried under or incorporated in buildings erected in later ages, but the bombing of Palestrina during World War II brought them to light. The invaluable collection of Palestrina’s National Archaeological Museum includes the famous Nile Mosaic, a work of the early first century B.C. After we’ve visited the Museum, the ruins of the temple and the birthplace of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the greatest composer of 16th-century polyphonic vocal music, our eyes turn naturally to the mountain that overlooks the city. The sight of the town on its heights and the landscape on its slopes will surely persuade us to follow a further pathway through art and nature, traditions, food and wine. Perched atop Mt. Ginestro at 752 meters above sea level, the tiny town of Castel San Pietro Romano, ancient Praeneste’s acropolis and a stronghold of the Colonna family in medieval times, dominates the scene. Its cobblestone paving and picturesque lanes and squares are just as they were long ago. This is the town that the movie director Vittorio De Sica fell in love with in the 1950s, and chose as the location for three important films of his: Pane, amore e fantasia and Pane, amore e gelosia, starring Gina Lollobrigida, and I due marescialli, with Totò. The road winds its way past Castel San Pietro along the limestone ridges of the Prenestine Mountains to Capranica Prenestina (915 meters above sea level), an ideal choice for people on the lookout for a relaxing and reinvigorating vacation spot.

This medieval hill town, with its steep streets and quiet streets, invites us to explore the local artistic and cultural beauties. Among them are the beautiful church of St. Mary Magdalen, topped by an unusual and elegant dome designed by Bramante, and the imposing Palazzo Capranica or Barberini, built between the 14th and the 16th centuries and now serving as the city hall and seat of the Prenestine Mountains Nature Museum. From Capranica, we take the steep road leading up to Mt. Guadagnolo. After about six miles, the road ends right at the top of the mountain, in the village of Guadagnolo. At 1218 meters, this is the highest town in Latium, and the circling view from here is fabulous: the Sacco Valley, the Aniene Valley, the Roman Campagna, the Alban Hills, the Sabine, Simbruni, Prenestine, Ernici and Lepine Mountains. Just below Guadagnolo, immersed in a solitary natural landscape, is the Mentorella Sanctuary; built in the 12th and 13th centuries, it was the first one in Italy dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Continuing our itinerary, we drive back to Capranica and from there on to the charming town of Rocca di Cave (933 meters). Here the sights include the picturesque castle built by Benedictine monks from Subiaco around the year 850. This massive hexagonal structure, with its imposing corner towers, lords it over the town and the spectacular valley. Not to be missed are the Geo-Paleontological Museum and the Astronomical Observatory inside the castle. We return to Capranica and take another road through vineyards and olive groves to San Vito Romano. This medieval hill town, with its steep streets and picturesque views, rises on a splendid spur of rock in the shadow of the wedge-shaped Theodoli Castle. The oldest part of town is connected to a levelled-out 17th-century part built by the Theodoli family. Some six miles farther on, we come to Bellegra (815 meters), nestled on top of Mt. Celeste. We’ll have some fine walks here, strolling among the ruins of the ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Bona or descending into the bowels of the earth to admire the spectacular Grotte dell’Arco. Just 4 km to the south of Bellegra, we reach the picturesque town of Olevano Romano. Throughout the 19th century, the spectacular landscape that surrounds Olevano was a source of inspiration for important German, Danish and French painters, for whom it was a mandatory stop on their journey in Italy. This pretty town is also famous around the world for its red D.O.C. wine, made largely with grapes from the native Cesanese vine. At the bottom of the valley downhill from Colline Romane magazine 71 Olevano, we meet up again with the Via Prenestina and turn right onto it, in the direction of Palestrina and Rome. We soon reach Genazzano, a lovely town on the edge of a long hill. Looming above Genazzano is the great Colonna Castle, a medieval stronghold that now hosts a Museum of Contemporary Art. One of the sights to see, and an important one for art history, is right at the entrance to the town: the beautiful nympheum designed by Bramante in the early 16th century. Our itinerary ends at Cave, a pretty little town on the southern slopes of the Prenestine Mountains, halfway between Genazzano and Palestrina, in a luxuriant landscape dotted with chestnut woods. It was the chestnut harvest that made Cave’s fortune. Until the 1930s, Cave exported its prized marrone chestnuts straight to Paris, where they were processed to become the celebrated marrons glacés. Our roam among the wonders of the Casiline- Prenestine area was a fantastic one, rich in art and nature, traditions and some new things too, but something’s still missing. If it’s true, as the Italian proverb has it, that eating whets the appetite, walking whets it even more. After all our wandering about, sitting down at the table to enjoy the local specialty foods and wines is the best way to top off a good outing. We want to eat well, but where? The following pages give some very good answers.