1 PLACE YOU MUST VISIT OUTSIDE ROME
There are actualy more...!

We continue with a selection of places that are worth visiting for their culture and history; where family can be entertained, need for knowledge satisfied and, most important, children can get some fresh air and run around.

TIVOLI.
Located east of Rome, at less than 1 hour drive from the city center of Rome, it is a small town on thop of a hill.
The main attractions are (if you do not have the whole day to visit) Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa) and Villa D'Este. There is also Villa Gregoriana, a park developing into a gorge with a beautiful natural waterfall. A really tempting walk, as it is all downhill, but when you are looking back to return, it is a steep way up; you must consider it.
You can find some nice organized tours here, for Tivoli. You can arrange them on your own, or leave it to us. We suggest you have a look, however.

VILLA ADRIANA

The villa was constructed at Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) as a retreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian during the second and third decades of the 2nd century AD. Hadrian is said to have disliked the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, leading to the construction of the retreat. It was traditional that the Roman emperor had constructed a villa as a place to relax from everyday life. Previous emperors and Romans with wealth, such as Trajan, had also constructed villas. Many villas were also self-sustaining with small farms and did not need to import food.

The complex contains over 30 buildings, covering at least a square kilometre (250 acres, an area larger than the city of Pompeii), of which much is still unexcavated.

The complex of the villa contains many structures from different cultures. For example, the villa has a small Nile river running through it that relates back to the Egyptian Nile river. Also, the villa had Poikilos, which are Greek figures that were seen in ancient Greece. Within all the structures in the villa, there is also a grotto called Hades. All these structures relate back to where Emperor Hadrian visited during his reign.

VILLA D'ESTE

The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

The fame and glory of the Villa d'Este was above all established by its extraordinary system of fountains; fifty-one fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins, fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades, and all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps.

The result is one of the finest gardens of the Renaissance, rivaled only by the Villa Lante, the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Villas Aldobrandini and Torlonia in Frascati. The garden and water features were admired and imitated over the centuries in gardens from Portugal to Saint Petersburg.

More to come in our next blog; we like to know you travel prepared and have it planned ahed to maximize your fun, enjoy your holiday, and make all your family happy.

We are RHI, and we care about your time in our country; let's make it worth and pleasurable.

NEED SOME FRESH AIR?
We have plenty of it, in Italy!

When it comes to thinking about your holiday in Italy you visualize, most probably, crowded places such as Piazza San Marco in Venice, or Galleria Degli Uffizi in Florence, or the strades of Colosseum. All those places where you have to make your way to see something and hope some group of other people will move away so you can finally post something worth on you socials, or just get a good look at it.

By Manuel Silvestri/Reuters

Some degree of frustration sinks in while you wait for the moment to capture something with your camera but you are tossed around, instead, by the crowd, moving stampede-like to somewhere else.
A hint of madness grips on you, as you try to find sense in the advertised "stroll among the narrow streets of" somewhere and "immerse yourself into the beauty of" somewhere else.
And you start wandering if you are going to spend the next days in your hotel room to gain some space and air.
You need fresh air.

Appia Antica natural park. The Hollywood walk of Rome. Home for international actors and producers.

So, starting from today, we will show you some venues around Rome, where to walk at ease, take a deep breath, enjoy the unfolding landscapes and soak into culture, tradition and, products.

We are pleased to introduce you: the CASTELLI ROMANI.

17 coats of arms for 17 villages!

Castelli Romani (Lit. roman castles) is the name associated with a large area south of Rome, where many small villages are nested on green hills, mostly famous for the production of excellent wines, going under the names of the same villages: Frascati, Marino, etc.
These towns were originally built around someone's castle; be it a fortification or a luxurios villa.
We invite you to have a look at their official website to discover and organize your excursion.
In a little bit more that a half day you can have some scenic views of Roma unfolding at your feet below, from the hills and the amazing parks located there.
All in total comfort, without crowds and allowing you to feel the relax you came here for.

We are RHI, and we care about your time in our country; let's make it worth and pleasurable.

NO EXCUSES!
It's Friday, and you know it!

Another week has come and gone in Italy and, probably, it's the same in the rest of the world.
It's been a busy week and we are re-organizing to be ready for the moment you'll decide to come back visitng. You know you will.

As we say in Italy: WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, YOU PREPARE LIMONCELLO.
And we are ready to share it with you.

We Italians are famous for the "mamma mia!" expression and our turbulent attitude; but we have a secret weapon to defuse uneasy moments: happiness. It's in our DNA!

After the first moment of uncertainty and discomfort we are ready to face the situation with a lighter hart and the approach to it becomes more efficient as fear is no longer with us.
And of course the solution will come from the people, then from their families and then from their cities.
We sort out probles with elegance and style; it is a world-wide known fact.

The weekend is coming, but also the end of the bad times is.

Are you ready?

We are RHI, and we care about your time in our country. Let's make it worth and pleasureable.

LUNCH TIME AND NO FOOD?
Come to Italy, we'll take care!

You like food, so your trip to Italy is half-way ready.

Food is for Italians part of an old-time tradition, radicated in the hard times of the first settlers, in the south of Italy.
Back then you spared your energies between cultivating land and defending it from the tribes around you. Eating was frugal and scarce, based on cheese, vegetables and some grains.

Eating well at home, or with friends in special occasions became a "must" for families to demostrate status and wealth.

So when in Italy remember: a meal is necessarily a relaxing moment, a reward, therefore, a pleasure.

Come to Italy, discover the variety of produces and taste local products. It's good for your health and your soul: there is every single town tradition in them, craftmanship, and love.

We are RHI, and we care about your time in our country; let's make it worth and pleasurable.

IT'S COMING: LOOK BUSY!
(You only have two weeks left).

Spring is here and two weeks is all you need to make your plans and pack for a nice spring-break in the beautiful Napoli and the enchanting surrounding areas.
The sun is already hitting and the temperature is rising and making Spring - the Love season - a perfect period to visit one among the the world-famous cities of the South of Italy.

The south: AT LEAST 400 miles from any place you've been warned of in the news.
The south: a place where just because you're a foreigner they'll love you most and offer all help.

Naples is the city tat inspired Johann Wolfgang Goethe to say: "In Neaples everyone lives in an inebriated self-forgetfulness. The same happens for me too. I barely recognize myself and I seem to be quite another man. Yesterday I thought: "Either you were crazy before, or you are now.""

Beyond the considerably vast choice of hotels and B&B's, the surrounding of Naples have a lot of campings that are well connected and can make a travelling family very satisfied.

And the food choice: we'll leave the blog @FoodDrinkDest to do the talking!

Stil not packing? So we'll resume it for you:

1 - Napoli is NOT among quaratined destinations.
The closest one is 400 miles away.

2 - There is plenty of charming B&B's and Campings.
Seasonal business means  no contagion possibility, AND a lot of family fun!

3 - Cultural, gastronomic, romantic & family-bound.
Whaterver you look for: start packing, no excuses.

We are RHI and we care about your time in our country: let's make it worth and pleasurable.

YOU CAN STILL HAVE A FUN WEEKEND IN ITALY!
While crowded places can be a little akward in these days here goes a suggestion by #RHI on where to go and enjoy fresd air, open spaces, tradition, culture and, of course, true and tasty food.

Roma has a variety of small towns and villages within 10 miles, each of them proudly upholding their own identity and easy to go around on your own pace. 

 The Castelli Romani is a belt of small villages south of Rome; on green hills famous for their wineyards and landscapes. Great for family time and fitness lovers.

Tarquinia is a peaceful village north of Rome; with most of the Etruscan civilization remains, dating from times before the Romans even existed. Good for culture, mistery, a walk back in time and dedicated (now empty) museums.

We are #RHI and we care about your time in our country: let's make it worth and pleasurable!

3 COMMON QUESTIONS ON TRAVELING TO ITALY

As we read about European countries closing borders against Italy we need to investigate deeper, without going mainstream on rumors and nonsensical panic.

All countries and everyone has the absolute right to do what they think best for their health.

Abiding to this point it is absolutely normal that Italians traveling from CONTROLLED areas are requested to quarantine wherever they arrive to; wouldn’t you do exactly the same at your own place?

Other Italians are just going around like, French, Germans, Americans, and many more do wile are also dealing with the disease.

1 – Is Italy doomed?

There are no main cities ot touristic attractions  that are dangerous currently.

@theocalitaly shows in the blog http://bit.ly/2uoF4Mi a map where you can see how far Venice and Milan are actually from the locked-down areas.

2 - But why so many cases in Italy?

Italian government keeps performing daily hundreds of tests to detect and other related cases; and this is the reason why you became aware of so many cases in our country; it is called prevention. And we are proud to detect in such a large advance the cases. Numbers are big, as our families are, and as our world-famous family gatherings are. Yes, we had fatalities, and we are sorry indeed, but they are statistically below the range and restricted to a certain age and/or medical condition.

3 - So: is it safe to go visit Italy?

I ‘ll use the U.S. CDC words (Centers for Disease Control And Prevention) http://bit.ly/399fh9W that state how basic hygiene can totally prevent contagion.

Just that simple.

So, based on the above points we recommend:

1-     Plan ahead your destinations and verify on accountable websites; not just the news.

2-     We Italians like large gatherings; if you do not, just book a quite place: there’s plenty and cozy!

3-     Keep performing your regular hygiene procedures, and…

Enjoy your stay in Italy!