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!

So sad the Piazza Venezia and its' surrounding area was under construction during the time of our…read morevisit. This is one of the most iconic and central squares in Rome, and I can even see some of its' elegance peeking out from behind the construction area.

A must stop if you're looking for free things to do. There are options to pay like they have a…read moremuseum and some other stuff otherwise you could totally walk through the piazza completely free. Many picture areas and has bathrooms, though it was crowded.

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.