Rocca Di Papa: Holiday Apartment, Via Sacra and Starry Sky

Rocca Di Papa combines history, sky observation and landscape in an unusually wide variety of facets. In the town and the district of Vivaro, discoveries range from the Museo Geofisico and old churches to the “Livio Gratton” Astronomical Park, the Via Sacra and the Pratoni del Vivaro.

Culture among alleyways, fortresses and museums

In the old town center, the Percorso dei Murales leads through the alleyways and displays murals by local painters and artists. Guided tours present the murals as an open-air art gallery. The Museo Geofisico is housed in the Osservatorio Geodinamico, built in 1886 by Michele Stefano De Rossi; it is located next to the Antica Fortezza Colonna above the historic center. The Fortezza Medievale degli Annibaldi is located near the Campi d’Annibale.

Churches and historic routes

Sacred art and architectural history are also among the town’s distinctive themes. In 1739, Corrado Giaquinto painted the altarpiece “Assunzione della Vergine” for the parish church of Rocca di Papa. Construction work on the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo began in 1664 to replace the 12th-century church del Crocifisso, whose size was no longer sufficient for the growing number of worshippers. The Santuario della Madonna del Tufo was built at the beginning of the 16th century to commemorate a miracle that took place in the Middle Ages.

The Via Sacra dates back to the 7th century BC and led to the Temple of Jupiter Latiaris on Monte Cavo. Along the Via Sacra, lateral crepidines made of peperino stone are still visible. The Via Sacra can also be reached from Campi d’Annibale at Piazza di Vittorio.

Observatory and planetarium in the Vivaro district

The “Livio Gratton” Astronomical Park is located in the Vivaro district, one of the darkest places in the Castelli Romani for astronomical observations. The park has an observatory with telescopes for nighttime and solar observations. It also offers planetarium visits, evenings with astronomical observations and guided walks. During the AstroIncontri, guided tours are combined with observing the sky with the naked eye and through a telescope. The Museo Geofisico complements this focus with scientific models of the Earth’s interior and new knowledge about the Earth and the planets, conveyed with the help of an expert.

Green valleys, views of the lakes and local specialties

The Pratoni del Vivaro form a green valley area used for picnics, cycling tours and horseback riding. From the Occhialone viewpoint, both volcanic lakes, Nemi and Albano, as well as the sea beyond them, can be seen at the same time. The local culinary world includes the Rocchicianella, a small, sweet-tasting chestnut to which a festival is dedicated every year on the third Sunday in October. The Ciambella degli Sposi is an old artisanal product and is now recognized as a traditional agri-food product of Lazio (PAT).

Further places for regional orientation

Further places for your regional orientation: Palestrina, Anticoli Corrado, Osteria Nuova, Ladispoli, Aranova, Morlupo, Mazzano Romano, Montelanico.

For the higher-level travel overview: Rome.