“Roberta and Marco's (Marco is not a minister as mentioned in a previous review, he works for the Roman ministry and is a government employee now but a former football star and Roberta a culinary artist!) home was an amazing retreat for our family during our trip to Rome this past June. Their primary residence and the vacation villa sit on a full hectare of land surrounded by olive trees, a lawn the size of a small park and the Roman countryside. They were very generous in allowing our children to use the pool, as it is located in the back of their residence. The vacation villa is very spacious and super clean with a Living Room, Family Room, 6 bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, a large covered lanai with a beautiful round tile table, a covered front porch, large walk-in pantry and laundry room. A bonus for us was getting visits from Aaron, their adorable and lovable Bernese Mountain dog puppy (he's 150 lbs!) Please note It is essential to rent a car for this property as it is in a gated community that is about a 10-15 minute drive from the nearest train station called Saxa Rubra. We ended up driving to the station and parking for the day (1.50 euro) and taking a 20 euro taxi into the city center. This is very simple to do as there are always plenty of taxis waiting at the train station. Or you can certainly train into the city if you like. There is a lovely grocery store called Simply Market nearby with everything you will need. A side note, the small bar/cafe that shares the parking lot can make wonderful meals-to-go including Amatriciana Pasta, a typical Roman dish we were introduced to by our host family! We also used this home as a base to explore Tuscany (Siena and Orvieto), Naples (Pompeii and Herculaneum) and the Sorrentine Penninsula (Vico Equense, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast). All very easy to access from the villa (FYI, parking in Naples is tricky as is driving in the small towns along the Sorrentine Penninsula but getting to these locations via the main highway is very easy). Roberta and Marco's villa was a home-away-from-home during our 2 1/2 week stay and their kind and generous spirit helped to create a very special memory for our family. We highly recommend this property, which you can use to explore Rome, but many other parts of Italy. If you are lucky enough to arrange a swap with this family, you might get the great honor of tasting Roberta's tiramisu. It is sure to make you cry it is that good. Thank you again, Roberta & Marco, for everything!! ”
