This is St. Francis' hermitage, the place where he would escape to from Assisi town, to pray and…read moremeditate along with his 4 companions. Thank God the Franciscan brothers still keep this place sparse and little decorated and it hasn't been made into a tourist circus like the town has. Many of them regularly walk the trails in the woods also to make sure tourists and pilgrims are not acting stupid. This is a holy sanctuary. This is the place where the stories of St. Francis preaching to the birds, receiving the vision of the angels and even levitating while experiences his spiritual ecstasies happened. If you want to come here and meditate and experience the same serenity that St. Francis did, by all means do so, there are many places in the woods and trails here for that and if you are in the right state of mind, stay quite and reverent and in a receptive state, some magical insights will come to you given how much St. Francis loved nature. St. Francis' energy is here but you have to be very patient and quiet to pick up on it, it is not in the town nor in the basilica where his bones and relics are. You'll get the feeling that you are a million miles away from the ugliness of the world but please take a reverent attitude here instead of an obnoxious, tacky tourist one. I saw both types of behavior in action here unfortunately. I saw very quiet and serious Italian pilgrims here given that the day I came was immediately after St. Francis' Feast Day. I also saw a yogini barefoot and doing a serious session of Earthing but I also saw the most obnoxious, loud, rude and uncouth Asian and Eastern European tourists who only show up because their guidebook tells them to but don't understand the significance of this place, the same types I saw at the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Greek island of Patmos, Mount Shasta in California and who had literally taken over the Sistine Chapel, they walk through the hermitage with the same amounts of poise and discretion as a brontosaurus, without even a second's worth of appreciation, take their stupid selfies and leave. Seriously, if that's the attitude you take, why bother even coming here? I spent a good three hours here, walking the trails and meditating at the the outdoor alters in the woods and in the caves that Francis' four closest brothers often went into seclusion to, for the purposes of deep, deep meditation and prayer, specifically Brother Leo, Brother Masseo, Brother Rufino and Brother Angelo. All four of their caves are here. I seriously hope the Franciscan Brothers can protect this place, this is one of the last real pure, spiritual refuges left in this world.

This magical place will blow your mind! Spend at least two hours here to silently soak up the…read morepeaceful atmosphere. This place is gorgeous and holy. It's kind of a long and steep walk from town so you may want to ride up in a car. You should bring some water if you want to hike around here because you won't find food or beverages for sale here.

We came here as an optional day trip on our Trafalgar tour. Our guide was very knowledgable about…read morethe villa and it's history. I simply can't imagine the obscene amount of wealth it must have taken to build this villa. The gardens and fountains are absolutely breathtaking. The fountains are gravity fed so that the farther down you go among the gardens, the higher the water sprays. Definitely worth the day trip as the villa is amazing and Tivoli is a great little town.

Gorgeous old villa and gardens with multiple beautiful fountains. If you like gardens, i think…read moreyou'll love this place, especially in the spring! You walk through the beautiful palace rooms first, then go down to the beautiful gardens below. Comments are available in both Italian and English. A couple of things to note: 1) there are drinking water fountains and clean, free restrooms (and a small cafe) at the site. 2) lots of walking and oodles of steps. 3) there's a cool outdoor water fountain organ that plays every couple of hours. 4) our mapping program gave us the wrong entrance info; if you are walking there, I suggest you double check with a local to make sure you are going the right way ( there are several gates, but all but the one entrance gate are closed). Be warned: There are 2 lines to get in. One (on the left) for those with pre-paid tickets, and another long line on the right side for those that need to buy their tickets there. If you've already bought your tickets online, go up to the front and ask the cashier if you can skip the line if you've already paid. We unnecessarily waited a long time on a very hot day because some random rude tour guide thought it would be funny to give us the wrong info that we had to wait in line even if we had a ticket already. Don't forget your camera; the photo ops are amazing!

If you know me, you know I love a good cathedral and this one is pretty great…read more Orvieto is a gorgeous, perfect hill town crowned with this jewel of a church. Started in 1294 (!) it took 300+ years to build. There's plenty of art including spectacular frescos by Signorelli. When you look at the elaborate decor - inside and out- reflect that most of this is hand laid mosaic work. Incredible

If you can only visit one place in Orvieto, the Duomo should be it! This strikingly beautiful 14th…read morecentury cathedral is likely the crown jewel of the small mountain town. It has amazing statues (check out all 18 of them, including the two right in front of the altar-- the unbelievable Angel of the Annunciation and the Virgin of the Annunciation! ) masterpiece frescos, and stained glass windows so vibrant that they etch into your heart! For just 5 Euros (at this writing) the beauty and memory you get is simply out of this world. A true marvel !!!

This is another one of these spots in Rome that is a must see! This is a truly historic building…read moreand there is so much history here. If you don't have time to stop in and do everything they have inside, it is still great to walk around and take if the beautiful building with the incredible horse statues at the top. Be careful when walking around though. There is a large street with multiple crossings but cars fly by. So double check when crossing the street and don't get too distracted that you put yourself in danger.

3 is for the piazza in its current state--as of April 2026 construction was very much still…read moreunderway so a large section of what is usually a very open cobblestone piazza, was cordoned off, leaving the remaining roadways along the perimeter narrow and congested. Located at the intersection of major thoroughfares Via del Corso and Via dei Fori Imperiali, without the construction, the view across the square towards the massive complex of the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II is awe-inspiring, you need to stand fairly far back towards the middle of the square to get a full look at the building. The piazza so named due to the Palazzo Venezia built here as ordered by Cardinal Pietro Barbo (later Pope Paul II) in early Renaissance times, and also because this place became the embassy of the Republic of Venice back in 1560. In 1797 this area came under jurisdiction of the Habsburg Empire and served Austro-Hungarian diplomats until Italy reclaimed it in 1916. Dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel II, credited with unifying Italy, the Vittoriano Monument was built between 1885-1911 and is also known as the Altare della Pàtria (Altar of the Fatherland). Later a shrine was added honoring soldiers who died in WWI without identified names.