What to visit around I Pini village

Fiano Romano

Fiano Romano is a countryside town perched on a hill. Its symbol is the Ducale Orsini castle, built in the late medieval period, which dominates the ancient town centre from the rocky hill that it's built on. We also recommend a tour of the historic centre, with a stop in Piazza Matteotti, where you can visit the Church of Santo Stefano and admire some frescoes attributed to Pinturicchio.

Capena

Capena is divided into a modern part and a historic part of town, where traces of the Roman presence and subsequent centuries can be found. We recommend starting your visit from Piazza della Libertà, then take Via Roma and, following Via San Luca, make your way to the Town Hall. Be sure to visit the San Michele and Santa Maria delle Grazie churches.

Morlupo

Morlupo is a town that was once a fiefdom of the monks of San Paolo, then the Orsini and finally the Borghese. The town gets its name from a legend that recounts how the local population was once forced to hide in the woods and survive like a pack of wolves ("as wolves", as the tale goes) to avoid being infected by a plague. In the historic centre, known as the "Mazzocca", you can still admire medieval structures to this day, which have been incorporated into more recent renovations, and the Baronial Palace of the Orsini, which holds an 11th century tower.

Civitella San Paolo

Civitella San Paolo was founded around the 4th century BC, and was a fiefdom of many noble families during the Renaissance. It later became the property of the monks of the Convent of San Paolo fuori le Mura ("Saint Paul's Outside the Walls"), which is where it gets its name. Walking around the little village's historic centre, you can admire the imposing Baronial Castle which dates back to 1100 and has recently been restored, and the church of San Paolo, built in the 12th century.

Nazzano

A miniature medieval gem that brings together history, tradition, nature and good food. The splendid panoramic position on the Tiber valley and the distinctive spiral urban layout of the medieval village make Nazzano an architectural gem. Along a single road, which winds through the historic centre, you reach the 13th-century castle which dominates the pretty village from above. We also recommend a visit to the Parish Church of Santa Maria Consolatrice, built in the 16th century and partly rebuilt in the 19th century, which preserves valuable works of art, and also the Church of Sant'Antimo, built on the remains of a circular temple.

Lucus Feroniae

Lucus Feroniae is not a city, but an archaeological area, dating back to the Republican era, when this place held a sanctuary of the goddess Feronia, a pagan deity who protected the flocks, crops and fertility. Here archaeologists have uncovered tabernae with amphoras, coins, votive offerings, floors with mosaics and a marble head of Vespasiano. In the surrounding area we also recommend a visit to the Villa dei Volusii, dating back to the century immediately after Christ, where you can admire mosaic floors and two marble herms, which are copies of Greek originals depicting Hercules and Euripides.