Land Offer

Ostia Antica

Visit the well-preserved ruins of ancient Rome's port in a beautiful park of pines and cypresses less than 15 mi/24 km from Rome. The extensive excavations expose the empire's remarkable architecture—from houses and stores to temples. Practice your oratory in the perfect acoustics of the Roman theater that seats 3,000 and then wander the miles/kilometers of alleyways. Take along water and a picnic lunch. The site is open 8:30 am-3:30 pm late October to mid-February, until 4 pm mid-February to mid-March; until 4:30 pm mid- to late March; until 6:15 pm late March to late August; until 6 pm in September; until 5:30 pm in October, with everyone required to leave 90 minutes after the ticket booth closes. Museum open 10:30 am to closing time. Both the excavations and the museum are closed on Monday.

Nearby is the necropolis of Isola Sacra, the Castle of Pope Julius II in the borgo of Ostia Antica and the fishing port of Fiumicino. To reach the area by car (a 45-minute drive), take Via del Mare 14 mi/23 km from Rome. No turns—just follow the signs to Ostia Antica. Or even better, take the train (a 20-minute ride) from Ostiense station on Line B of the Metro (trains leave every 30 minutes). The train station is just across a footbridge from the excavations. Live music concerts are held in the park throughout the summer months. Daily except Monday 8:30 am-5 pm (till 4 pm in winter, 6 pm in summer). Admission 8 euros. Viale dei Romagnoli 717 (Ostia), Rome. Phone 06-5635-8099 or 06-5635-0251 for tickets. http://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en/archaeological-site/ancient-ostia.

Spoleto

Spoleto, Italy, is a truly charming Umbrian hill town only 60 mi/95 km northeast of Rome and best known for the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) or simply known as the Spoleto festival.

This annual festival of international music, theater and art is held during the last two weeks of June and the first two weeks of July. Composer Giancarlo Menotti organized the first one in 1958, and it now includes performances of opera, dance, theater, concert and film. Tickets are best purchased six months to a year in advance. http://www.festivaldispoleto.it.

Spoleto is divided into upper and lower towns: Spoleto upper is a beautiful Renaissance town in itself, with arched, narrow, winding streets and Roman architecture that includes a theater, an arch, about a mile/kilometer of Roman walls and a remarkable first-century house that belonged to Emperor Vespasian's mother. Roman stonework forms parts of many buildings.

Just on the other side of La Rocca, an old prison and hilltop fortress, is a spectacular gorge—cross the 750-ft-/233-m-long, 14th-century brick footbridge (built over an older Roman aqueduct) for sweeping, panoramic views.

Siena

Siena is . . . the city of the blessed Virgins and the "Balzana"; black and white; decisive, just as its heraldic symbol; passionate and contemplative; always climbing and descending; clear and at the same time obscure; steep and narrow streets; the red of the Piazza del Campo appearing blinding and suddenly. In the alleys, in the museums and oratories of the Contrada, the spiritual songs of the Palio evoke very ancient rituals and modern allegories, while during the evening the shuffling of soles on the deserted pavement is in contrast with the peacefulness of the green valleys providentially enclosed within the wall, which ancient administrators had erected hundreds of years before it became common practice. Siena is also the Cathedral and the extraordinary panorama from the Facciatone; the Sala del Pellegrinaio in Santa Maria della Scala, the Libreria Piccolomini and the prestigious Accademia Chigiana; the enormous Medicean fortress that on the inside, at the Enoteca Italiana, harbors the most precious wines of Siena, Tuscany and the peninsula; sweet-smelling Trattorias, sweet spices, the sounds of the artisans and spouting fountains; Fontebrande and the mystery of the Diana, a famous river underneath Siena; the alchemy geometry of the Piazza, suggestively neo-Gothic and cathartic. And these are the reasons why "Siena opens up its heart more than any other place," as the famous inscription reads on the Porta di Camollia.