Our family (2 of us, plus our 11 and 7 year olds) had a wonderful time in Sacrofano. Gherardo is the perfect host – really helpful and kind, and responded quickly to any queries. The villa is wonderful – perfectly clean, beautifully designed, with an amazing garden and views over the village and as far as Rome! We had everything we needed to make us feel at home, including a well-equipped kitchen, lots of space, and a great pool for the kids.
Sacrofano itself is a lovely little village – with a selection of good places to eat (we particularly enjoyed Tonino’s restaurant and Il Torrione Pizzeria), and drink (Papo’s in the centre is nice and relaxed, and our kids loved the little pool with the turtles). There are also a host of small local shops (bakery, green grocer, butcher, etc), as well as two supermarkets.
Local trips included a walk and picnic at the waterfalls at Cascate di Monte Gelato (about 20 minutes drive), a visit to the lovely medieval town centre at Bracciano, followed by a swim in the picturesque lake (40 minutes drive), and an afternoon seeing the farm animals and birds of prey at Parco Natura La Selvotta (only open weekends, 20 minutes drive). We also had a great day out at the beach at Santa Severa (around an hours drive).
For the amazing sights of Rome, it’s about a 15 minute drive to the station at Montebello, from where there are regular trains into Rome, taking 20 minutes or so – the ticket is only 1.50 Euro each (under 10’s travel free), and gives you a total of 100 minutes travel on public transport including the buses and metro when you get into Rome.
We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this fabulous villa (and its excellent owner) to any visitors to the area, and very much look forward to coming back again, to see even more of this beautiful part of the world.