{"id":1486,"date":"2013-07-24T15:00:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-24T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=1486"},"modified":"2017-06-22T19:02:10","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T17:02:10","slug":"great-day-trips-from-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/great-day-trips-from-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Day Trips from Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"day
La Fontana delle Naiadi (Photo credit: wiki.commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Eternal City\u2014there\u2019s enough to see within the confines of the Aurelian Walls to keep even the most determined traveler busy for, well, an eternity.\u00a0 Most native Romans don\u2019t fully know their city; there\u2019s just too much.\u00a0 Does anybody\u2014local, expat, or tourist\u2014know where La Fontana delle Naiadi<\/i> is located?\u00a0 It\u2019s huge, maybe one of the biggest fountains in Rome and thousands of people see it every day.\u00a0 And yet few people know it by its actual name.\u00a0 (F.Y.I. It\u2019s the one in the middle of Piazza della Repubblica.)<\/p>\n

So if everyone agrees that Rome has so much to see, why would you need to venture outside of the historical center?\u00a0 Well, you don\u2019t, of course.\u00a0 But sometimes the chaos of the Caput Mundi can wear on you and it feels liberating to get out into the surrounding hills or seaside to breathe some cleaner air.\u00a0 Therefore I\u2019d like to suggest a few easy day trips from Rome that will allow you to slow down a bit and catch your breath. \u00a0However this list is not short either, so I hope to make this post the first of an ongoing series.<\/p>\n

Ostia Antica<\/h2>\n

Everybody knows about this place, but surprisingly few tourists make it here.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the best archeological sites in all of Italy.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure why it\u2019s not visited more often since people make the effort to visit Pompeii, and yet Ostia is so much easier to reach.\u00a0 And less crowded, even in high season.<\/p>\n

\"side<\/a>
Typical mosaics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To get there, take the Roma-Lido Train from Piramide\/Porta San Paolo. \u00a0ATAC tickets (\u20ac1.50) and the Roma Pass are valid on this train. \u00a0Departures are about every 15 minutes and the trip takes about 40 minutes. From the Ostia station, it\u2019s just a short walk to the Ostia Antica excavations. \u00a0They open at 8:30 and the closing time varies with the season. (Closed Mondays, admission \u20ac6.50.)\u00a0 Later, you can board the train again if you\u2019d like to visit the beach at Lido di Ostia where you can find a few good seafood restaurants.<\/p>\n

Originally a colony of Rome, Ostia grew to become the major port of the ancient city, as it is situated on the mouth of the Tiber (the word \u201costia<\/i>\u201d means mouth). The town\u2019s growth started during the late Republic, but expanded rapidly under Emperors Claudius and Trajan. Ostia was deserted after Rome\u2019s fall in 476 AD, and the buildings fell into ruins which were eventually covered by sand and mud from the Tiber, which is why we have them so well-preserved today.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really such an easy, enjoyable day.\u00a0 You can do it at your own pace with a simple map (you buy them there or download from the Internet) and\/or an audio guide (ditto). Rick Steves has a good one. \u00a0It\u2019s a fairly large area and it invites wandering and exploring.\u00a0 There\u2019s also a theater which occasionally holds productions in the warmer months.<\/p>\n

Marino<\/h2>\n

Marino is a city and comune<\/i> in the Alban Hills, about 13 miles southeast of Rome.\u00a0 It\u2019s located in what\u2019s known as the \u201cCastelli Romani<\/i>,\u201d the collective name given to all of the little villages in this area.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, Marino is easily reachable by train from Termini station.<\/p>\n

And why would one want to visit Marino?\u00a0 Well, there\u2019s the Basilica of San Barnaba with its Baroque style and imposing fa\u00e7ade dating back to 1653; there\u2019s the Fontana dei Mori, depicting prisoners from the Battle of Lepanto; and an important 2nd century fresco, Mithraeum<\/i>, portraying the God Mithras slaughtering the bull.\u00a0 Blah, blah, blah\u2026<\/p>\n

\"porchetta1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The real<\/span><\/i> reasons to visit Marino are much easier to explain and there are only two of them, both relating to the more corporal pleasures of eating and drinking.\u00a0 The first is porchetta<\/i>; that storied Roman specialty which represents the highest expression of the lowly swine.\u00a0 Here in town center of Marino you\u2019ll find many street shops selling porchetta<\/i> and porchetta<\/i> sandwiches in the open air.\u00a0 Get a little bottle beer or glass of vino and you might just have the best meal of your vacation.\u00a0 And speaking of vino\u2026<\/p>\n

Reason number two to visit Marino: the annual Grape Festival (Italian: La sagra dell’uva<\/i>). It takes place every year on the first Sunday of October, so mark your calendars now. \u00a0Seriously, you\u2019ll need to plan ahead.\u00a0 I tried to go in 2011 but when I arrived at Termini station to catch the train at around 11:30, the \u201ccattle car\u201d was already so full with eager teenagers on their way to the party that there were literally arms, legs, and other body parts hanging out the window of the train.<\/p>\n

\"wine<\/a>
Salute!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So why is everyone so keen to participate in this particular event?\u00a0 After all, it\u2019s not the only autumn wine festival in Italy.\u00a0 No, but this one is very famous because, during this weekend, some of the city\u2019s fountains spill actual wine instead of water!\u00a0 Is this a great country, or what?<\/p>\n

When in Rome<\/h2>\n

Of course, there are many other great day trips from Rome which I plan to share in the coming months, so check back once in a while.\u00a0 My goal is to suggest locations that are both interesting and easy to reach.\u00a0 A few of them might require a car (such as Bomarzo<\/i> and Civit\u00e1 di Bagnoregio<\/i>), but I\u2019m trying to focus mostly on the ones that can be reached by train or bus<\/a>.\u00a0 If you have any of your own ideas, please let me know and I\u2019ll try to follow up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Eternal City\u2014there\u2019s enough to see within the confines of the Aurelian Walls to keep even the most determined traveler busy for, well, an eternity.\u00a0 Most native Romans don\u2019t fully know their city; there\u2019s just too much.\u00a0 Does anybody\u2014local, expat, or tourist\u2014know where La Fontana delle Naiadi is located?\u00a0 It\u2019s huge, maybe one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,42],"tags":[382,151,150,153,152],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1486"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}