Frascati

Twenty kilometres southeast of Rome, on the slopes of the ancient city of Tusculum, Frascati pairs monumental baroque villas with the easiest-going wine culture in the Castelli Romani. Its cathedral square, water theatres and fraschette trattorias have drawn weekending Romans since Italy’s first railway brought them here.

Why visit

Frascati condenses the Castelli Romani experience into one sociable town: a Renaissance villa of the first rank with a monumental water theatre, a cathedral whose square holds the town’s favourite fountain, and a wine so embedded in Roman life that the traditional taverns are named for it. The views run all the way to St Peter’s dome; the trains from Rome take well under an hour; and the streets between piazza and vineyard are made for grazing on porchetta and the local whites. History runs deep too — the town rose from the ruins of Tusculum, gave Europe its first free public school, and rebuilt itself after near-half destruction in the Second World War.

Character and history

Frascati grew on the remains of a Roman patrician villa attributed to Lucullus; its name is said to come from the frasche, the brushwood that once covered its houses. When Tusculum was destroyed in 1191, its people descended to rebuild here, and the bishopric followed; in 1538 Paul III raised the town to a city under the name Tusculum Novum. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought the golden age, as popes and Roman nobility planted the Ville Tuscolane on the hillside facing Rome — Grand Tour landmarks then, film locations now. Learning has deep roots: in 1616 Saint Joseph Calasanz founded Europe’s first public and free school here, and in 1856 the town became terminus of the Papal State’s first railway. The war struck hard: Frascati, hosting German headquarters, was heavily bombed in 1943 and again in 1944, losing about half its buildings and many monuments, a loss mourned each 8 September. The villas and the cathedral rose again, authentically restored.

What to see

Villa Aldobrandini — the “Villa Belvedere” — dominates the town: given by Clement VIII to his nephew Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, designed with contributions from Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Maderno and Giovanni Fontana, whose hydraulic art completed the vast nymphaeum, a water theatre two and a half thousand square metres strong in its park. In the heart of town, the Frascati Cathedral (St Peter the Apostle) faces the piazza, its rebuilt interior holding the tombstone of Charles Edward Stuart — Bonnie Prince Charlie himself — while the Fountain of Piazza San Pietro in front of it offers one of the town’s classic views. A few steps away, the Church of the Gesù (Frascati) hides Andrea Pozzo’s celebrated trompe-l’oeil dome, painted to fool the eye where no cupola was ever built.

How to experience

Do as the Romans do: ride up on the railway, start at the piazza, and work downhill through the lanes to a fraschetta for coppiette, porchetta and a jug of Frascati or the sweet Cannellino. Time your visit for the villa gardens — Villa Aldobrandini’s park and nymphaeum open on weekdays, and neighbouring Villa Falconieri, the oldest of the Tuscolane, offers Sunday guided visits — and check arrangements in advance, since hours are limited. Wine lovers can extend the day to the cellars that ring the town, where the DOC whites are poured at source. The walk up to Tusculum’s Roman theatre and acropolis adds archaeology to the afternoon, with the whole Roman plain below. Goerste reached by the Rome–Frascati line from Termini; drivers will find the town busiest at Sunday lunch, which is precisely the point.

Practical planning

Frascati is the classic day trip — four to six hours — but an overnight lets you enjoy the evenings when the day crowds leave. Spring and autumn suit the villa gardens and the vineyard walks; September brings both the wine harvest mood and the town’s day of remembrance. The railway station sits conveniently below the centre, and the short climb to the cathedral square is the only serious effort involved. Villa visiting requires planning: the Aldobrandini park keeps weekday hours, Falconieri’s tours run on Sundays, and schedules change seasonally, so confirm through the town’s official channels. The tourist information office can also point you to the civic archaeology museum at the Aldobrandini Stables, with finds from Tusculum.

Nearby places

The Castelli sprawl in every direction: Grottaferrata with its Byzantine abbey lies over the first hill, Marino on the way down to Rome, Castel Gandolfo above Lake Albano, Nemi in its crater, Ariccia and Albano Laziale along the appian highlands, and the villa towns of Tivoli and fortress towers of Palestrina just beyond. Westwards, Bracciano makes a longer excursion by its castle lake.