Our “grand tourist”’s journey to discover two of the most beautiful museum hamlets in the Prenestini Mountains area has to include the towns of Castel San Pietro Romano and Poli. If our traveler is fond of walking through alleys and woods, observing frescoes and discovering interesting facts on the history of art and contemporary film in the area, this itinerary is perfect for them!

The journey starts in Castel San Pietro Romano, founded in the late Bronze Age which later became the old acropoli prenestina where rites like the augurium and the auspicium were held. It’s surrounded by a strong polygonal wall that dates back to the VI century b.C., which can still be observed during one of the main paths of the MuDi – Diffused Museum of Castel San Pietro Romano. Established in 2016, the MuDi’s main purpose is to illustrate the history of the prenestini territory and to welcome visitors and plunge them in a glorious past made of history, archeology, art and traditions. With a set up renewed in 2024, the MuDi finds its home in the exhibition space of Palazzo Mocci, a building constructed in ‘700 by the family of the same name, during one of the many urban transformations the city underwent since the Barberini started ruling. The museum’s three rooms tell the story of the Natural Landscape of the area and its transformations from Protohistory to the 1800’s through the use of findings, photographs, videos and digital installations, with a focus on the figure of Adolfo Perry Pastorel, the father of italian photojournalism, who was also mayor of Castel San Pietro Romano from 1952 to 1960. A significant part of the exhibition is reserved to the film history of the town, protagonist of many movies in the Italian Neorealism movement, among which the famous Pane, amore e fantasia. The itinerary ends with a fourth room dedicated to the project MuDi Reality+, which, thanks to the use of augmented reality, takes visitors on a real journey through time, giving them an immersive experience to discover the Rocca dei Colonna, one of the town’s most striking scenic views, where many cultural and astronomical initiatives take place and from which the entire prenestino territory can be observed.

After visiting the museum, travelers can move onto discovering the many scenic views and alleys and the beauty of the hamlet which boasts this prestigious history. From the Early Middle-Ages, the site became the home of a Benedictine monastery that even pope Gregorio Magno stayed at. In the XII century, the territory became an estate of the Colonna family, who had a castrum built, for strategic and military purposes: the stronghold was destroyed a first time by pope Bonifacio VIII and then by pope Eugenio IV during the many disputes between the Colonna family and the papacy, only to be rebuilt in 1482 by Stefano Colonna, this time for civil use. Castel San Pietro Romano isn’t just ancient and contemporary history because, just a few km from the residential zone, is the Cannuccete Valley , a 20 acres wide protected natural area, declared a Natural Monument in 1995. Here, our traveler can choose between many trekking routes to explore the flora and fauna of Lazio’s sub-mountainous region and catch a sight of the old pre-roman aqueduct dating back to the VI century b.C., which was responsible for Palestrina’s water supply until the middle of the last century. After an energizing break, our traveler’s journey to discover these small museum hamlets can start back up again with Poli. A small town of only 2200 residents, situated 40 km east of Rome, between Tivoli and Palestrina, it’s well known for its historical ties to the Conti family. First time visitors will be blown away by the sight of its extraordinary medieval settlement, similar to that of a painting: the town is, in fact, long and narrow, huddled up on a sharp rock peninsula giving it the appearance of a vessel. A treasure of a town that reveals, if explored without haste, a small timeless world: narrow alleys, panoramic views, numerous prestigious churches and the imposing baronial building. Our curious traveler’s stroll starts at Piazza Conti, Poli’s main square that is immediately visible after entering the old part of town, once called “Piazza della Corte”: built around the middle of the XVI century, it’s overlooked by the magnificent Palazzo Ducale and stands right in front of Via Maestra , from which all the alleys that distinguish the hamlet, branch out, following a herringbone pattern.

Better known as Palazzo Conti, from the family of the same name that inherited and inhabited it for a long time, the Palazzo Ducale’s oldest part dates back to the X century, but currently stands in its sixteenth-century appearance, completely renovated by the Arezzo architect Lombardo. With a quadrangular build, the Palazzo was erected on the same big tuff rock as the rest of the town and stands out against it: inside the Palazzo, entirely adorned with frescoes, are an entrance hall decorated with grottesche, a courtyard embellished with paintings, a wonderful fountain in baroque style, Torquato’s apartment – now headquarters of the current Town Hall – and Lotario II’s chambers on the noble floor, where pope Innocenzo XIII was born. The entirety of the frescoes in the main hall of the noble floor and the adjacent one were, according to Pelliccioni, painted by Bernardo Cesari and based on drawings by his brother, Cavalier D’Arpino.