Things to do in Palestrina Italy – what to see attractions and activities

The Toy Museum was built on 18 March 2005. It is located inside the rooms of the sixteenth-century Palazzo Rospigliosi. It expands into 18 rooms where toys from the twentieth century are exhibited. There are about 800 pieces built by the most important factories that allow you to relive the good period of childhood.

Colonna Castle was built by the great architect Antonio Del Grande. On the second floor there is a chapel decorated with frescoes by the painter Marzio Genassini. Since 1969 the structure is owned by the Municipality of Genazzano, which started its restoration.

The Archaeological Museum of Artena was inaugurated in 1991. Inside there is a large collection of objects of archaeological importance excavated in the surrounding areas of the city. Inside we can admire ceramics, ornaments, coins, glasses and numerous other Neolithic and early Middle Ages elements. The museum is open to the public.

The castle was built by Riccardo Conti, brother of Pope Innocent III, at the beginning of the 13th century. It was destroyed in 1431. Since 2004, excavation campaigns have been underway that have brought to light housing facilities, a church and a necropolis.

The Art Gallery of San Silvestro is located inside the Convent of the Camerlitan Fathers. The Art Gallery is set up in a part of the Convent and an exhibits collection of sacred paintings, which date back to the 17th century.Small format canvases represent religious during the retreat periods in the hermitage or for the devotion of community members. The Convent is open to the interested public.

The first news of the church dates back to the twelfth century, it was knocked down after the war to allow the enlargement of the Via Casilina. The Romanesque bell tower remains. In 2006, a corridor with frescoes from the 14th century was found.

The Three Exedre Building is a monumental vestibule, and it was the residence of Emperor Hadrian. The lobby is interrupted by the presence of a large fountain surrounded by statues. The structure has a covered room with marble paved space on which there are three exedras, from where the building takes its name.

Ownership of the Counts.Built in the 13th century, it was destroyed in 1431. It belonged to the Salviati and the Doria Pamphili. The complex consists of various structures organized around a central court.

The Apsidate Hall of Philosophers takes its name from the presence of seven niches, where statues of some essays were assumed to be placed. The peculiarity of this room was its porphyry cladding of the walls and the floor. From the latest research it shows that this room could be used, given its breadth, also as a waiting room for guests.

The Thermal Baths with Heliocaminus are the oldest spa building in Villa Adriana and owes its name to the presence of a circular room with heliocaminus. The room was heated by the hypocaust system, and it was also made up of a sudatio due to the presence of oven vents. In addition, there was also the rectangular frigidarium and the calidarium obtained in two baths for hot baths.

Since 1600 it has been hosting travelers and tourists, with the incomprehensible exclusion of women

The villa is a remarkable complex of classical buildings built by emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century A.D. Its blend of architectural elements from Egypt, Greece and Rome makes it a unique heritage. Among the impressive buildings we can find the Maritime Museum and the Hall of the Philosophers. A beautiful spot in the grounds to visit is the Vale of Tempe, the legendary haunt of the goddess Diana.

The Gregorian Villa was built in 1835 for the desire of Pope Gregory XVI. It is located in the town of Tivoli. In the villa there is a natural area of great historical value. In 2002 the area was taken by the Italian Environment Fund and in 2005 it was reopened to the public.

Villa Adriana was built by the will of the Emperor Hadrian. The Maritime Theatre is one of the first buildings of the villa. The building consists of only one floor. In 1999, Villa Adriana was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Villa Adriano is located in Tivoli in the province of Rome. In the past it was the residence of Emperor Hadrian, from whom it takes its name. The villa complex occupies an area of about three hundred hectares, thus constituting a real city. The architecture of the villa represents the power and wealth of the emperor. Since 1999 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Rocca Pia was built around the fifteenth century, by the will of Pope Pius II Piccolomini from whom, among other things, it also takes its name. Work began in 1461 after a visit by the Pope himself, who entrusted the task to the architects Varone and Niccolò. The Pope's intent was to build a building that controlled the interior of the city and access to the Aniene valley. The structure consists of two major towers located outward to set greater defense. Inside we find several rooms distributed in each of the two structures.

Tivoli in Latina host two most famous villas that one can find in the entire Lazio: Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este both of which are not only Tivoli’s major tourist attraction sites but also part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. Located close to River Aniene, the town has a splendid climate housing wealthy Romans for their holiday retreats. Villa d’Este is a beautiful garden and a complex palace that was built in 1560 being the vision of cardinal d’Este who narrowly became a pope.

Villa Gregoriana is a beautiful nature park in the city of Tivoli. It was set up in 1834, at the behest of Pope Gregory XVI, after the River Aniene diverted thus bringing the arrangement of a new waterfall. The structure is dominated by two temples located in the acropolis and consists of different natural elements, panoramic views and caves that make it the most visited park in the city.

The Temple of the Sibyl was built around the 2nd century BC on an artificial construction near Tivoli. The building was accessible through stairs and there was also a 1.76 metre high travertine podium. Today of the construction remains only the lower part of the two columns of the facade and the walls of the cell decorated by semi-columns on the outside. The temple in 978 was a place of assistance and distribution of alms to the poor.

The Temple of Vesta was built at the end of the 2nd century BC. The building consisted of 18 columns, of which only 10 are left. On the settlers there are capitals according to the Corinthian-Italic style. From the temple, you can admire the fantastic landscape of Villa Gregoriana and the waterfalls below the Gregorian Bridge. The temple of Vesta is the most famous monument of ancient Tibur.

Via dei Condotti, known simply as Via Condotti, is one of the best known streets in Rome. Located in the north of the historic center (the so-called Trident), connects Via del Corso to the Spanish Steps.

It rises on the Alban Hills in a hilly area of volcanic origin, it is the highest peak and reaches almost a thousand meters.

The Trivio Tower was built in 1353 as a bell tower of the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo in Velletri. It is characterized by the Lombardy-Gothic style and stands for about 50 meters in height. The facades are distinguished by eight windows each, adorned with green majolica bowls. During the restoration, the cusp was eliminated and currently the Tower has a lower roof.

The Civic Museum was reopened a few years after several renovations and interventions on the construction. It was opened to the public, for the first time, in 1920 by engineer Oreste Nardini. Nowadays, most of the most important works that were there at the beginning, have been moved to museums far from Velletri, such as the 'Pallas of Velletri', kept in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The gallery is divided into two sections: the archaeological section and that of Geopaleontology and Prehistory of the Alban Hills. The first includes the Sarcophagus of the Labor of Hercules, the Slab of the Prayer, and the Volsche ceramics. The second, on the other hand, is a journey in the Prehistory of the Alban Hills.

The Museum of the Abbey of San Nilo is set up inside the homonymous monastery founded in 1004. The core of the collections consists of sarcophagi, marble finds and portraits of prominent characters such as Alexander the Great and Constantine. Among the sacred objects you can admire a “homophorion” in silk and gold from the 14th century.

Porta Napoletana was built in 1511 in alignment with the ancient defensive wall circle of Velletri. On one of the door jambs there is an intimation that attributed to the Door a real function of a customs barrier. During the eighteenth century the structure underwent several changes, such as the reinforcement of the two side towers of a semicircular shape.

The Diocesan Museum is based in the former seventeenth-century seminary belonging to the Diocese of Velletri. The collections on display date back to the nineteenth century and were kept in the Cathedral of the city during World War II. The most significant work is the “Veliterna Crux” of an ancient Palermo goldsmith from the eleventh century.