Castel Gandolfo - Picturesque retreat for Pope Benedict XVI

Now former Pope Benedict XVI is ensconced in the Papal Summer home at Castel Gandolfo, a small hill town we visited last year - just to chec...

Of pigs and pork in the hills outside Rome: when gourmet cooking meets us

 Looking for porchetta in Ariccia  Found it!  Dianne watches her sandwich being made We have to admit a craving for porchetta - that...

RST Top 40. #13: The Path from Frascati to Tuscolo

waterway fountain in Villa Aldobrandini's amazing back gardens - in Frascati This path is loaded with so much history, architecture, vie...

Genzano: Bread, Flowers and War

Genzano is one of several delightful hill towns along the via Appia, on the western edge of the Alban Hills ( Colli Albani).   On one side o...

Genzano: Kids Learn the Flower Fest

On one of our recent treks from Genzano to Nemi and back, in the Colli Albani outside of Rome (the somewhat overbuilt but still charming hil...

Celebrating the Berry... Nemi's Strawberry Festa

[new pix of 2010 poster, btw] Sagre e feste – annual feasts of patron saints and general festivities. They’re everywhere in Italy, celebrati...