Stunning building and well maintained garden. The whole place is now open to the public due to the…read moregenerosity of Pope Francis. I hope Pope Leo and all the other future popes will keep this beautiful place open to the public. The observatory tour (additional cost) in my opinion is a ripoff. The tour guide basically just showed us the way and had very minimal explanation about the history of the place. You can learn about it yourself from just reading the signs.

This retreat of the popes has only been open to the public since 2014 so take advantage and visit…read more But book ahead so you don't miss out on the tour of the gardens.

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!

4000 years old! Tower of Cicerone!!…read more This is the Civitavecchia of Arpino! The oldest fixture in oldest town! The town that was built before Rome was built! The town also got attack many times by the romans. You can see the canon holes, a broken canon and so on here too! Climbing the tower: a must! My family's pride and joy this tower! And one of my cousins actually work for the city/government so he's all about restoring and making this place visited. They don't charge you anything! There are about 100 stairs to go up. It is already extremely hot right now so pick a good time. But it is fascinating and break taking to visit this! The story behind it! The history of it all! If you make it to Arpino, go here!!! You cant drive here: Park outside, about a 20 minutes walk and a climb up to get to the tower. Maybe even 30 minutes if you are slow! Just come see for yourself!

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.

Lovely abbey located on the top of a peak in the Frosinone province. If you're looking to see…read morelesser known attractions on your trip to Italy perhaps put this on your list. The abbey has a long and storied history, amd in recent memory served as a major battleground in World War 2. The area serves as a memorial for the battle of monte cassino and there is a sombering polish cemetery nearby. The drive up to the abbey might make you a tad carsick with its hair pin turns but the view at the top is stunning. Also, prior to going check the hours online. We got there mid-morning on a thursday and didnt have time to explore more of the abbey because it closed at 12:30. The abbey does have a nice souvenir shop and it also has a museum which i didnt see because it had already closed.

Absolutely heavenly place. Give yourself some time to explore the monastery. There is great…read morebeauty and holiness throughout. I was blessed to ask to celebrate Vespers with the monks. I guess I was acting monkish today. I was deeply grateful.