Holiday apartment in Lanuvio: Antiquity, museums and vineyards

Holiday apartment in Lanuvio: Antiquity, museums and vineyards

Lanuvio combines an unusually rich cultural history with a clearly recognizable landscape. In places, the historic center of Lanuvio is bordered by monumental walls dating from the 5th century BC. At the same time, Lanuvio is surrounded by vineyards and lies within the Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani. Choosing a holiday apartment in Lanuvio therefore provides a varied setting: you can spend your days exploring local history, museums, ancient buildings and the surrounding landscape.

Archaeological treasures from many periods

The Museo Civico e Diffuso Lanuvino holds more than 2,000 artifacts from prehistoric, pre-Roman, Roman and medieval times. The Museo Civico Lanuvino also displays the oldest Latin alphabet. It was incised beneath the foot of a Bucchero bowl and is dated to approximately the 6th century BC. The Sala della Stipe dei Pantanacci is part of the Museo Civico Diffuso di Lanuvio and houses all the finds from the Stipe di Pantanacci at the Tenuta Pantanacci.

The ancient sites in the townscape also tell the story of Lanuvio’s long development. The sanctuary of Juno Sospita stood on the south-western slope of Colle San Lorenzo. From the Iron Age onward, Colle San Lorenzo developed from a village of the local population into the acropolis of ancient Lanuvium. Today, only the substructure of the Temple of Hercules on the first terrace of ancient Lanuvium remains. Ponte Loreto dates from the period between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and has a single round arch made of square masonry.

Villas, churches and exhibitions

Villa Sforza Cesarini was built in 1906 in the Liberty style at the instigation of Francesco Sforza, severely damaged by fire a few years later and partially rebuilt in 1917. Two smooth marble columns give the Sala delle Colonne its name: one column is made of Cipollino marble from the 2nd century AD, while the other is made of Grigio Carnico and has an uncertain date.

Il Cantinone is located in the basement rooms or underground vaults of Palazzo Colonna on Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore. It houses an exhibition on the excavations of Lord Savile Lumley, as well as an exhibition entitled Museo dell'Acconciatura. The Torre Medievale presents the permanent exhibition “Il Medioevo a Civita Lavinia”. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore has Byzantine origins and was later rebuilt in Baroque forms. The Fontana degli Scogli was built in 1675 by the architect Carlo Fontana on behalf of Filippo Cesarini.

Museum visits and planning your day

The locations of the Museo Civico e Diffuso Lanuvino can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Museo Civico e Diffuso Lanuvino offers guided tours on Sunday mornings, as well as guided tours by appointment on every day of the week. This makes it possible to combine visits that suit different interests with a varied daily schedule.

Other places for planning your trip

If you would like to discover other places besides Lanuvio, you can find Maccarese, Monte Porzio Catone, Isola Farnese, Valmontone, Castel Di Leva, Cecchina, Lavinio Lido Di Enea and Canterano here.

The Festa della Musica adds a special touch, bringing the streets of Lanuvio to life with music, singing and performances in June. Together with the vineyards, historic center and museums, this creates a destination where you can incorporate both cultural discoveries and the character of the Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani into your decision to choose a holiday apartment.

For the broader travel overview: Rome.