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Home > Countryside: Lazio - Il Palombaro

Sample itinerary for Upper Lazio

Il Palombaro - Rome Countryside

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Accommodates 8 — 5 Bedrooms — 6 Baths

We saw Il Palombaro for the first time on an absolutely ravishing fall day in October 1999. Then in May 2001, we spent 10 days here ourselves and just loved it. The grounds are just gorgeous, typical of the area, with lush green lawns sweeping up to a stuccoed villa compound and dotted with those immensely evocative Roman pines. This is a landscape which we love more than any other in Italy, including the Chianti vineyards, and that's saying something.

What's more, we never heard English spoken once during our meanderings in this region. What a pleasure! If what you want is authenticity and not a theme park (read: Chianti), Il Palombaro may be the perfect place for you. We cannot recommend it more highly.

The closest villages are Manziana and Oriolo, about 50 kilometers, 35 miles, north of Rome. We explored both towns extensively during our most recent visits. They are entirely typical small Italian towns with good coffee bars and real Italian people. The DeMicheli bakery in Manziana is a place which you must avoid if dieting: it has at least a dozen types of wonderful local bread plus dozens of sinful pastries, some made only in this area, which the owner is only too willing to press on you in the way of “samples”.

The property enjoys a broad vista encompassing fields of chestnuts, hazelnuts, and olives, as well as beautiful Lake Bracciano. On a clear day, you can see Rome itself in the distance. In fact, one very important feature of Il Palombaro is its proximity to a brand-new commuter train line which whisks you into the center of Rome in about 40 minutes.

Apart from the convenience to Rome itself, what is the point of positioning yourselves here? For one overwhelming reason: the variety of things to do:

Hilltowns? You'll find them just as appealing as in central Tuscany, and without the theme-park aspects. You'll even hear Italian spoken! We're thinking of places like Tuscania, Viterbo, Caprarola, Sutri, Bracciano, Tarquinia, Nepi, Cerveteri, just to name a few in the immediate vicinity. We had never even heard of a little place between Lake Bracciano and the sea called Ceri. This village is a real jewel, truly magical, plopped atop and actually within a cylindrical rock mass. Yes, you can also take leisurely daytrips to more well-known places like Todi and Orvieto, all of which we love. But we recommend you stick with the lesser-known towns closer to Il Palombaro. Wonderful.

Gardens? Not just gardens, but three of the most famous in Italy: the Villa Lante, the Villa Farnese, and the monster garden at Bomarzo. If you're lucky to find it open, don't miss the Giardino dei Tarocchi, the fantastic creation of Niki de Saint Phalle based on the tarot — she's the American sculptor responsible for those colorful figures in front of the Pompidou Center in Paris.

Water? The whole stretch of coast north of Rome is full of Italian family resorts, all the way up to elegant Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano. We particularly liked Santa Severa, very close to Il Palombaro, where there's a delightful castle right on the beach, great for families with children. Plus: Bracciano, Bolsena, and Vico, three appealing lakes, lie within a few minutes' drive. Bracciano is closest to Il Palombaro, and the three principal towns along it are different from each other and quite appealing: Anguillara, Trevignano, and Bracciano itself.

Stately homes and castles? The Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the castle at Bracciano are only two of the most accessible.

Ruins? Ostia Antica is just a short drive away, and the area is chock full of Etruscan tombs. Not to mention the Roman Forum and Colosseum in Rome itself.

Churches and abbeys? They're all over the place, of course, but two of our favorites in all Italy are in Tuscania, a few minutes' drive from Il Palombaro. The medieval center of Viterbo, one of the most attractive in Italy, has several lovely Romanesque churches. Farfa is a charming medieval abbey not far away.

So the point is variety. Variety for adults. And variety for children, far more than central Tuscany which, in our opinion, has little if anything of interest for kids.

Have we piqued your interest? Check our sample itinerary for this property for full details. We think you should give this area serious consideration.

So back to Il Palombaro. What we have to offer you isn't the main villa but rather a (somewhat) smaller, though still quite imposing guest cottage immediately adjacent. The owners occupy the villa only a few times during the year. The guest house is like a villa in itself. You enter through a charming, rather unkempt rose garden. Downstairs, there are a large, old-fashioned living room with lots of sofas and chairs and a fireplace; separate formal dining room with its own fireplace; good kitchen with 2 fridges, freezer, microwave, dishwasher, and other appliances, and a twin bedroom with its own bath. Adjacent to the kitchen is a separate more informal dining/breakfast room. Upstairs, there are one matrimonial, one twin, and two single bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom. Phone, washing machine. Some housekeeping is included in the rental amount, and more can be hired, for cooking, cleaning, food shopping, and childcare.

Outdoors, there's lots of room to eat, lounge, frolic outside. Again, the grounds are most attractive, including an old-fashioned swimming pool, about 15 x 50, beautifully positioned below the main compound.

The feeling throughout Il Palombaro is one of rather faded elegance, even grandeur. The house is full of light, and there's total peace and quiet (except for the unbelievably abundant bird calls you'll hear, utterly transporting). If you're looking for super-modern and super-efficient, this isn't it. Beds, however, have all been upgraded to first quality. The hot water is provided by individual electric hot water heaters, so you can't take three 15-minute showers in a row without running out of hot water. (Since, however, the house has so many bathrooms, this shouldn't be a problem at all.) Il Palombaro reminds us of so many wonderful English country houses we ourselves have rented in the past.

The atmosphere of an old family villa is pervasive, and we loved it. So have all clients whom we've persuaded to stay here in 2000 and 2001. In fact, Il Palombaro was one of our great successes of the past year. The price is reasonable and the location excellent. We strongly urge you to try Il Palombaro.