Hotel Frascati, Roman Castles .

Frascati is a small city in the province of Rome, which lies on the northern slopes of Colli Albani. The town is set in the heart of Castelli romani, a geographical area located south-east of the capital, that includes 13 municipalities of Lazio countryside. These picturesque villages constitute a remarkable tourist attraction for their culture, landscape and wine-and-food tradition. The "Castelli" was the place where popes and noble families build their residences where they went on holiday, especially during the summer.

Nowday you can see the magnificent villas, with their parks and gardens, water games and holm secular located on the hill-top. Frascati is the most important and popular locality of Castelli Romani. Its name comes perhaps from a local tradition in the use of "frasche", branches, to build homes in the Middle Ages. Its territory is cultivated with olive groves and vineyards from which it derives the famous white wine Frascati Doc. In addition to agriculture, the economy of the area is based on tourism.

In the territory of Frascati there are many villas of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The most famous and sumptuous is Villa Aldobrandini, which rises on a hill which overlooks the entire city. The construction was started in 1598 by order of Cardinal Aldobrandini, nephew of Pope Clement VIII. The structure surprise for its monumental entrance and for the park, full of statues, fountains and terraces. The rooms inside are all richly decorated with frescoes and artworks. Throughout the municipality of Frascati there are 12 villas, but not all are open to visitors. Not far from the center there is also the archaeological site of Tusculum, an ancient Etruscan city, with the ruins of the amphitheater and forum.