The best walks and hikes around San Vito Romano

Planetary shows, visits to the museum and the dinosaur garden. You can take virtual trips into space with advanced technology.

The Rocca di Cave Planetarium, housed in a picturesque fortress in the Prenestini Mountains, is part of the "Ardito Desio" Geopaleontological Museum. The facility represents an important scientific and cultural center for the Lazio region, dedicated to recounting the geological and paleontological history of the area. The planetarium, recently renovated with a new 10-meter-diameter immersive dome, offers high-definition astronomical shows that allow visitors to travel among stars, planets, and galaxies, giving them the sensation of being at the center of the universe. Next to the planetarium, the museum displays fossils from an ancient Cretaceous coral reef, active between 140 and 65 million years ago, which extends around Rocca di Cave and also includes the Dinosaur Garden with a reconstruction of "Tito," the first sauropod discovered in Italy. The museum extends over multiple levels within the fortress, with interactive exhibition spaces, an astronomical observatory, and panoramic terraces offering sweeping views of the Monti Prenestini. Admission to the planetarium and activities is by reservation, and the site is a hub for scientific outreach and educational initiatives aimed at schools and visitors of all ages. Tito is the first Italian sauropod dinosaur known from skeletal remains. It was discovered in the Monti Prenestini, less than 50 kilometers from Rome. Tito lived approximately 112 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period, and was a titanosaur approximately 6 meters long and weighing 600 kg, although it was still growing when it died. This dinosaur is the oldest known titanosaur from southern Europe. The remains have been studied at the Natural History Museum of Milan, where important research on Italian dinosaurs is conducted. The Tito discovery also has paleogeographic implications, indicating that Italy constituted a bridge between Africa and Europe in the geological past.

really really very tiring

Meeting point

Looking west you can see the vast area of the city of Rome and its province. In the valley below the town of San Gregorio da Sassola and, following on the right side, the city of Tivoli in the middle of the valley.

It is a challenging but absolutely wonderful path, to be followed like the ancient pilgrims, in silence and prayer...

The path is dedicated to Pope John Paul II who used to take walks in the little frequented areas of the Prenestini mountains. The route is not very demanding, except in the final part at the foot of the sanctuary, and crosses a wooded area of considerable interest. It is recommended to walk it especially in spring when the bottom of the wood is covered with many species of flowers and the Falconara ditch is full of water.

The Sanctuary of Mentorella is one of the oldest Marian sanctuaries in Europe. Inside the sanctuary there is the cave of San Benedetto, a truly special place: it is a tiny cave which is accessed via a very narrow gap in the rock. Right at the entrance there is a shrine with the bones of the friars. In the sanctuary there is also a small refuge that is always open, with bathrooms and tables.