Take a train from Rome and discover the Latium

There are 8 railway lines that start from Rome in the direction of important city located from the north to the west of Latium.
These are:

• FR1 = Orte – Roma – Fiumicino Aeroporto
• FR2 = Roma Tiburtina – Lunghezza – Tivoli
• FR3 = Roma Ostiense – Cesano di Roma – Viterbo Porta Fiorentina
• FR4 = Roma Termini – Frascati – Albano Laziale – Velletri
• FR5 = Roma Termini – Civitavecchia
• FR6 = Roma Termini – Frosinone – Cassino
• FR7 = Roma Termini – Formia
• FR8 = Roma Termini – Nettuno

Ariccia Flat – A delightful and comfortable apartment in the center of Ariccia (Rome)

The apartment is located in the center of Airiccia inside a famous historical building of ’800 and has a double bed and three single sofa beds. The apartment can accommodate a maximum of 5 persons. It ‘was equipped to make guests’ stay a very comfortable and it has: autonomous heating, air conditioning, washing machine, LCD TV, oven, freezer  and vacuum cleaner. In the lounge there is a large fireplace and a large terrace where you can spend pleasant evenings in the summer period tasting a good wine from the Castelli Romani. Pets are not allowed and requires a minimum stay of 3 nights. Apartment cleaning of ending stay has an extra cost of 40,00 euro.

Direct Booking: http://www.romahappydays.com/ariccia-flat/ 

The history of Ariccia and The Ducal Palace – Rome

In south-east direction from Rome after 35 km. , between Lago di Albano and Lago di Nemi, there is Ariccia. Aricia boasts very ancient origins. As in all Latin cities, the first inhabitants of these places had to fight to maintain their independence. “Aricia” was the capital of the Latin League at the end of the 4th century B.C., and the battle of Aricia successfully thwarted the military ambitions of the Etruscans in Southern Latium.
The “Ariccini” also fought against Rome until being subjugated in the 4th century B.C. Ariccia became one of the most important Roman communities because of its geographical position between two volcanic lakes, Albano Lake and Nemi Lake. The people of Ariccia were devout worshippers of the goddess Diana, . Her temple, located in the “Nemus Aricinum”, now Nemi, was one of the main sanctuaries in the Latin territory dedicated to the goddess .
During the Middle Ages, Ariccia was sacked and pillaged by barbarians during the Roman campaign. In 1473 Ariccia passed into the hands of the Savelli Family, which started the reconstruction of the territory, and began work on the noble palace. Acquired in the 17th Century from the Chigi, Family, the town was completely re-zoned by the architectural genius of Gian Lorenzo Bernini . He collaborated with many artists, Carlo Fontana. being the most well known amongst them.
In the beginning of the 1700′s, Ariccia became a haven for important artists and writers of the time. In the course of the 19th century, the layout of the town changed greatly when the Appian Way, which went down through the valley (Valle Ariccia) was bonified, under the auspices of Pope Pius IX. Thanks to him, in fact, a bridge with three orders of arches was constructed over the thickly wooded area (now Chigi Park), where the road reached up to Galloro hill.

About the Palazzo Chigi ,the ducal palace of Ariccia is a unique example of a baroque home which has remained virtually unchanged in its environment and with its original furnishings, and is a testament to the great wealth of one of the most important Italian papal lines: the Chigi family.
The family was also the owner of the Chigi palace in Rome which today houses the offices of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Begun in the second half of the sixteenth century by the Savelli family, the palace was transformed into a lavish baroque home between 1664 and 1672 using plans by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with the collaboration of his young student Carlo Fontana.
The palace houses a large collection of paintings, sculptures and decoration, mostly dating back to the seventeenth century, which also came from the family’s Roman residence, which was sold to the state in 1918. Perhaps due to the Spanish feel of the décor, Luchino Visconti decided to set his famous film “The Leopard” here, filming several scenes within the palace.
The palace was given to the City of Ariccia on 29th December 1988 under special conditions, by Prince Agostino Chigi Albani della Rovere, and is now a museum and cultural center, hosting various activities such as exhibits, concerts, guided tours, meetings, and the like.

Suggested accommodation for this area : http://www.romahappydays.com/ariccia-flat/

Puntarelle – Roman Cusine Part 7

This is a typical salad of the Roman vegetable gardens. Clean the “Puntarelle” by pulling away vertically the external part and you will soon see how the young leaves curl up by themselves.
Wash carefully the leaves and place in a salad bowl which has first been rubbed over with som garlic.
Prepare a good quantity of dressing with some anchowy paste, garlic if you wish, oil and salt, and mix the puntarelle leaves.

Rieti – A famous Latium city

Rieti is placed in the north part of Latium on a small hilltop commanding a wide plain, at the southern edge of an ancient lake. Today only the small lakes of Ripasottile and Cantalice remain of the original basin.
Rieti was originally a major site of the Sabine nation. After the Roman conquest, carried out by Manius Curius Dentatus in late 3rd century BC, the village became a strategic point in the early italic road network, dominating the “salt” track (Via Salaria) that joined Rome to the Adriatic Sea across the Appennine mountains.
Through a deep cut in the limestone at the northern edge of the valley, Curius Dentatus made the water of the lake flow away in the Nera river, then the wide area once occupied by the lake turned into a fertile plain, and the land was split by surveyors into square allotments, in the shape of a regular grid.
The town itself was re-founded on the basis of orthogonal axes, and was fortified with strong walls all around; a stone bridge was laid across the Velino river, and a great viaduct was built to lead people and carts from the Salaria road up to the southern door of the town. Roman Reate deserved several quotations in the Latin literature thanks to its flourishing soil, its valued asses, and some weird peculiarity of the surroundings, as wandering islands, roaming sources and hollow-subsurfaced fields.
Cicero tells about litigation between Reate and Interamna for the lake drainage, and refers to the country houses (villae) that his friend Q. Axius owned in the plain. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Rieti suffered destruction by barbarians people, but was always an important gastaldate during the Lombard domination, as part of the Duchy of Spoleto. Under the Franks, it was capital of county. In the 9th and 10th centuries, it was sacked by the Saracens, and, in 1149, by the Norman king Roger II of Sicily.
The city was rebuilt with the help of the Roman commune, and from 1198 was also a free commune, of Guelph orientation, with a podestà of its own. As a favourite Papal seat, Rieti was the place of important historical events: Constance of Hauteville married here by proxy Emperor Henry VI (1185); in the cathedral, in 1289, Charles I of Anjou was coronated King of Apulia, Sicily and Jerusalem by Pope Nicholas I. Pope Gregory IX celebrated here the canonization of St. Dominic (1234). After the Papal seat had been moved to Avignon, Rieti was conquered by the King of Naples, while inner struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines began. In 1354 it was captured back by Cardinal Albornoz, and later was a feudal seignory of the Alfani family within the Papal States. In the following century a program of drying of the neighbouring plain was carried on, but this led to quarrels with the city of Terni. Rieti was province capital of the Papal States from 1816 to 1860. After the unification of Italy, it was initially part of Umbria, being annexed to the Lazio in 1923. It became capital of province on January 2, 1923.

The main monuments to see are: The Palazzo Vescovile (“Bishops Palace”), The Gothic church of Sant’Agostino (13th century, restored in the 18th century) and The Cathedral, begun in 1109 over a pre-existing basilica, was consecrated in 1225 but almost wholly rebuilt in 1639.

Beans and pork rind – Roman Cusine Part 6

This recipe is really notoriously by the romans. Then for 5 persons soak overnight in some water 500 gr. of large white beans, then boil them in some salted water together with 2 whole sticks of celery. Meanwhile calculate 300 gr. of pork rind, boil for a few minutes, change the water add cook again but slowly. Fry in 1 tablespoon of lard a chopped mixture of 1/2 onion, 1 stick of celery, 100 gr. of diced streaky bacon, leave to golden and then add 500 gr. of tomatoes, salt and pepper.
When the tomatoes are half done, add the beans and the pork rind cut into pieces and allow to cook together, for a certain amount of time. Mix and serve very hot with a generous sprinkling of pepper.