This post is also available in:
Italiano (Italian)
The almost ex-girlfriend who pulls the package at the last
Having been to Rome many times, from a certain point I began to take advantage of it to see the rest of the region as well, so my trip to Latium was actually made in many different times.
I have also been to the capital for special occasions, a New Year’s Eve with insignificant friends and intercontinental flight departures.
In the bleakest period of my existence I was with a person whom I had loved very much and who had come back to me after various travails. I should have touched the sky with one finger, but instead I realized that he was cheating on me and even in previous periods he had always had someone else without my knowing it. After this came out there was a kind of unconvincing trial period.
Long live plan B: journey through Lazio
In unsuspected times I had taken 3 days off and 2 tickets to the Depeche Mode concert at the Olimpico. She supposedly liked going to concerts and visiting cities, plus she had never been to Rome. Shortly before leaving she said she didn’t feel like it anymore. What to do give up the tour and vacation days?
Absolutely not! so I immediately activated plan b. On the way down I met up with a friend in Orvieto and then headed to Lazio alone.
I made my base in Ostia lido (one evening with an in-room dinner of ice cream vascone since it was pouring) and devoted myself to the areas outside Rome:
- Ancient Ostia
- the roman castles
- Tivoli
In Tivoli in particular I visited the fantastic as well as under-appreciated Villa Adriana. I had just read Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian. Emperor Hadrian I think deserves much more and at least a museum of his own.
They explained to me that the total absence of explanatory panels; not even to mention who the heck this Hadrian guy was, is done to incentivize hiring a private guide: no comment.
The second concert ticket I could not place; I spent a couple of hours of vain negotiations with scalpers. Only at the last I decided to give them both away in exchange for 1 seat in the VIP grandstand. Really strange to see a concert by the way rather dancey, sitting in a seat more comfortable than my couch.
Crazy rides with little time
In more recent times, I have also done crazy things like picking up a friend in Ostia (a 5-hour drive) and then driving around the coast of the Province of Latina (another 2 hours).
I found Sperlonga and Gaeta beautiful, for me especially out of season, but 14 hours by car for 36 hours of vacation, is indeed a lot.
In the Viterbo area, in addition to the capital city, I greatly enjoyed Bomarzo Park and Civita, a small village in the municipality of Bagnoregio.
In themonster park in Bomarzo there are statues, some very large ones representing grotesque figures, mythological figures, animals and monsters; very entertaining.
An unmissable stop on a trip to Latium is the beautiful, but in my opinion quite distressing, visit to Civita (featured photo).The arrival on an elevated walkway with a view of the entire area is unforgettable. But you also need to know that the rock on which the village is placed is slowly crumbling. I was lucky to see it in the early morning with some mist that made it look like an island.
Home set of travel On the road into central Italy, marriage proposal (Italy and Vatican)
Previous stop Visiting Rome and Vatican City, from the Pope for a magnet
Next stage Getting lost in the woods, the 00 trail, between Emilia Romagna and Tuscany
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
Countries visited in my travel stories
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.