A theatre in the middle of the woods: from Frascati to Tuscolo

A destination that is better known for its lavish meals than for its nature trails, the Castelli Romani area provides many opportunities for excursions. Lakes, hills and villages provide views of singularly gracious landscapes. The itinerary that leads from Frascati to old Tuscolo provides beautiful natural scenery and also the chance to discover traces of the remote history of this rich countryside and its glorious past, to which the splended Tusculan villas bear witness.

Leave Frascati from Piazza Marconi and the adjacent grounds of Villa Aldobrandini and go up towards Via Catone. After passing Villa Lancellotti, turn right up the road to Villa Falconieri (Viale Borromini). This short initial stroll goes by the most beautiful villas in Frascati, especially well known for their luxuriant gardens. Near Villa Falconieri take the unsurfaced path into the wood. The path first goes along the walls of Villa Falconieri, then those of Villa Mondragone, and finally it bends right and goes on until it meets the Monte Porzio-Tuscolo road; cross this and take the avenue leading to the Camaldoli hermitage. The path leading to the ruins of Tuscolo is a turning to the right off this avenue. Tuscolo, which was one of the most important towns of Roman origin in the Castelli Romani, flourished so much in the Middle Ages that it worried the Papal State, which had it razed to the ground. The path leads to near the archaeological area, which one enters on the side where the Roman theatre and Forum are located. The Via dei Sepolcri and the Roman flagstones of the ancient Strada Tuscolana, which led to Rome, go through the entire area. Before the return down towards Frascati from old Tuscolo, a climb may be made to the top of Monte Tuscolo. Beside the sign marking the path leading to Frascati, there is one to the path up to the wood, which passes near the grotto of the Sibilla Tuscolana and reaches the top of the mountain. From here there is a view of the ruins of the Temple of Jove and, above all, a beautiful panorama over the hills.

Information
Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani, Rocca di Papa, phone 06 9495253
www.parchilazio.it, www.parks.it, www.collineromane.it
S. Ardito, A piedi nel Lazio, vol. 1, Roma 2005