This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.
10/10 Excellent
Mike R.
1 Jan 2015
Peace and tranquility
We have lost count of the number of times we have stayed at either Castellano or Torreta over the last 16 years, but it is certainly more than 15 times, several times taking friends with us. These have been for long weekends or upto 14 days, in winter, spring and late summer. We have never been disappointed. The tranquility of the site is wonderful, on the edge of Monteleone it is only a 10-15 minute gentle walk to the bars and limited shops of the old village - just sufficient to justify an early morning cappuccino or in the evening a cool beer or wine in one of the bars. The lovely garden is full of history, the amazing roman cistern and the tops of roman columns that have been placed as seats. The buildings themselves, the proximity of the amphitheatre remains and Santa Vittoria church all add to the character. Sat on one of the terraces looking down the valley over vines and olive trees, whilst food cooks on the barbeque below, is wonderfully relaxing. There is plenty of wildlife all around, we have seen black squirrels, hoopoes and on our last visit the field below the terrace was visited by wild boar on two consecutive evenings, splendid to see, if very timid.
Both houses are comfortable and packed full of character, in winter we have grilled meat and vegetables over the open fire in the sitting room, which was huge fun.
As a centre for exploring it is brilliant; there are many local places to visit (see webpage) but also getting into Rome is very easy either by train from Passo Corese which has a very good service, or for the braver by car down the A1 and then into Rome on the early part of the Via Salaria to the car park at Villa Borghese, which is only a 10 minute subway walk to the Spanish steps!
