Lazio is an incredibly popular region of Italy.

The capital is, of course, the main attraction, visiting by millions of tourists from around the world, but it’s not worth focusing solely on this city. What to see near Rome? There’s quite a lot : stunning landscapes, sea, food, history, culture – everything the average tourist can expect on holidays.

What to see near Rome – Trevi Nel Lazio

Lazio also boasts lesser-visited towns where time seems to have stood still. Such a town is Trevi Nel Lazio, nestled in the mountains at an altitude of 800 meters. Tiny, with a population of 1,700, it’s a place where everyone knows everyone. For such a small town, it’s quite well-equipped for life: there are four or five cafes, a restaurant, a school, two or three grocery shops, an ATM (but not a bank), a mobile post office, and, of course, a castle.

On our way to Manfredonia from the Rome airport, we decided to stay there for two nights (it ended up being 1 and 1/2). However, our plane was delayed by three hours and our GPS went haywire, leading us down some strange roads. We arrived at Trevi Nel Lazio at 1 a.m. Luckily, our host was waiting for us.

Trevi Nel Lazio

You can visit and explore it in a few hours, but I think it could be a great alternative base for trips around Lazio if you are interested in not obvious attractions near Rome. And in between, you can soak up the beauty of Italy, which is slowly disappearing under the mass of tourists and globalization. In the morning, we woke up by neighbors chatting and chatting, the bells of a nearby church, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the air. We had breakfast with some local old boys chatting about life. 

Trevi Watrefall

Then we decided to see the waterfall, the Cascata di Trevi. With memories of beautiful waterfalls in Bosnia fresh in my mind, I was a bit skeptical, not expecting anything special, especially since it hadn’t been raining for a while raining; I thought there wouldn’t be any water. 

The cascade is easy to reach; simply enter the name into your GPS. The road to the waterfall is just behind (or before, depending on where you’re coming from) the restaurant located at the bend.

The path to the cascade is short and easy, though a bit slippery at times, so it’s worth watching your step. The natural surroundings and the Cascata di Trevi turned out to be very beautiful. To the left of the waterfall, there’s a path uphill (easier to climb than to descend), so you can see the waterfall from a different perspective; the river also forms a sort of swimming area there, and believe me, there’s nothing better than jumping into a cold mountain river on a hot day.

After the waterfall, we had lunch at Punto di Ristoro la Cascata.

Visiting Anagni.

Next, we headed to Anagni to see the cathedral chapel. Anagni is about an hour’s drive southeast of the Italian capital. In the Middle Ages, the city was the papal residence. The Romanesque cathedral (built at the turn of the 12th century) is the main reason tourists visit Anagni. We also came for this very reason, specifically the crypt of St. Magnus, hidden beneath the cathedral floor. To visit it, you need to buy a ticket (9 euros) at the nearby museum and make a reservation.

Reserving entry to the cathedral sounds a bit strange, but it’s essential, unless you want to explore the crypt in the dark. During certain hours, the crypt lighting is only turned on for 20 minutes, and only when there are visitors.

So is it worth buying a ticket and waiting for the lights to come on? In my opinion, the cathedral itself isn’t particularly interesting, and the museum is also quite dull, but the chapel is absolutely worth a visit and should be on your list. The crypt quite big – it  covers over 500 square meters – and you still preserves colorful frescoes depicting saints, martyrs, and apocalyptic scenes.

Then we  had good ice cream and  strolled down the main street. Strada Vittorie Emanuele, as it’s called, is full of beautiful houses with mullioned windows and large windows. There’s also the loggia of Pope Boniface VIII’s palace and the 12th-century town hall. After seeing naicely decorated the Barnekow House (no. 89), we turned back.Then we turned back.

Picturesque Ninfeo Bramante. 

Skipping the obvious attractions around Rome, we drove to Genazzo to see the Ninfeo del Bramante. These picturesque ruins, at first glance resembling the remains of a church, stand at the center of the garden in Genazzano.

In ancient Greece and Rome, a ninfeum meant a grotto or grove with a natural spring dedicated to nymphs.

Who wouldn’t want to feel like a nymph, or at least meet one? I suspect this wasn’t the motivation behind the incredibly influential and wealthy Collona family, who commissioned the important early Renaissance architect Donato Bramante to build the Ninfeo in the early 16th century.

The garden originally included a nymphaeum and a lake, divided into three levels.

Today’s nymphaeum, or rather its ruins, is a still-existing hall with large, diagonally arranged niches, shaded areas for lazing, sheltered from the water jets, and a circular pool in the center, likely filled with water from a nearby spring.

It’s clear that the Cololon family invested in a good architect – the ruins are still impressive. I imagine it was a very charming place, although without nymphs, but still perfect for daydreaming in the shade. And if one desired contemplation, the beautiful building, the surrounding nature, and the trees rustling overhead undoubtedly encouraged it.

If you enjoy picturesque, abandoned places, this is another thing to do around Rome.

In the evening we returned to Trevi Nel Lazio, where locals were busy preparing for a local festival featuring a bicycle race and a feast of food.