Latium, the land of Princes, Popes, Farmers and Craftsmen

Many people reading this blog have asked me to tell them a little more about Latium, the region where Country Weddings Italy is based and will concentrate most of its wedding venues. Although I obviously speak from a personal point of view, I truly think that this part of Italy is beautiful, and the beauty of it is that it's not crawling with tourists for most of the year, apart from the capital city, of course. 

So many parts of Italy are popular with overseas tourists. Tuscany is most certainly at the forefront in everyone’s mind when they think of Italy. The region’s tourist board has certainly had some very efficient marketing experts working for them in recent years, and they have the "material" to warrant that, without a doubt. The Amalfi coast is also very popular with Brits and Americans with its unique coastal scenery, and Lake Garda and the northern lakes in general have gained popularity thanks to the likes of George Clooney buying property in the area. Italy’s most beautiful cities, Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples are also known names in everybody’s vocabulary.

Latium (known as Lazio in Italian) is, in fact, the Italian region that is home to one of those names: Rome, the Eternal City, Italy’s capital, which gets its fair share of publicity worldwide and which everyone dreams of visiting at least once in their lifetime. It really is worth a visit and that could easily be incorporated into your stay here, as the city is never more than an hour's journey from wherever you stay in the region.  However, apart from Rome, we are somewhat spoilt for choice in this area of Ancient Roman, Etruscan and Renaissance history. There are architectural wonders to look at wherever you go.  There are Roman ruins, Etruscan tombs, medieval castles, spectacular countryside, rugged coastlines with its long, wide beaches, mountains for skiing, thermal spa towns and lakes for lazing by. A perfect, mini paradise!

We have already shown you a few venues and locations for celebrating your wedding in Latium in this blog. In coming weeks I will most definitely showcase some more. I could go on for hours and hours about the majestic beauty of the medieval town of Viterbo, Montefiascone, the village that produces the excellent Est! Est! Est! wine by the side of Lake Bolsena, the the Monti Sabini hills in the northeast corner of the region, with its olive groves that produces the most divine olive oil and superb country farmhouse hotels ...... but I often think that the power of words is sometimes just simply overcome by the power of pictures, and so I thought I would show you this short video of just some of the highlights of the Latium area. Feast your eyes on this!

Rustic Chic Lakeside Wedding Venue at Country Weddings Italy

Today we’d like to show you one of the locations that we visited recently and have decided to include in our range of Country Weddings Italy wedding venues. This 346-acre estate evokes a truly rustic chic atmosphere: it is a fully working farm that stands on the shores of a small lake just 30 minutes north of Rome. The farm owners have developed a restaurant renowned for the quality of its food and a farm shop selling all their own produce. The restaurant uses the farm produce in its kitchens; it even grows its own wheat to make the pasta!

The venue also offers accommodation for guests, in both double rooms, or beautiful self-catering apartments, created from the farm’s refurbished hay barn and stalls.  Anybody attending a wedding can make this a real holiday opportunity, staying around to enjoy the lakeside beach and bar, sailing boats, swimming, horse-riding and even cookery lessons.

Weddings here take on a bucolic style. The wedding reception decor and floral designs reflect the natural country setting, using local wild flowers and colours in keeping with or complementary to the environment. Couples can even choose to seat their guests on hay bales during a symbolic ceremony down by the beach, and after the excellent food served at the wedding reception, it is possible to hold an after-dinner beach party to continue celebrations until the early hours of the morning!

Daniela and I love this place, and the friendly family team that run all the estate activities. This is also a restaurant where I can already vouch for the quality of the food, I’ve already enjoyed Sunday lunch here with the family, eating and enjoying an excellent glass of local wine, and lazing by the water’s edge.

If you require further information about organising your wedding at this venue in Italy, please get in touch with us at: countryweddingsitaly@gmail.com

Lakeside Locations

Today Daniela and I are feeling very pleased with ourselves as our searches have led us to visit two locations that we both liked immensely. They are both situated near two of the lakes which lie to the north of Rome, one right on the lake shore. More of the wedding locations themselves when we have the photos to post on the blog, but in the meantime let me tell you about the area. Martignano, the smaller of the two lakes, is the water-filled crater of an old volcano, or maar, as they are correctly known. It is a lovely, peaceful area, away from the crowds, and perfect for a relaxing holiday. Picnics by the water, swimming, walking in and exploring the surrounding woods, rowing a boat or enjoying lazy snoozes in a hammock strung between the trees.....a perfect natural oasis, just 30 minutes from Rome. There are a couple of restaurants around the lake, but it is mostly still completely unspoiled and magical.

The farmhouse resort we visited at Martignano is just amazing: perfect views, mouthwatering menus in the restaurant (with many of the ingredients actually grown or bred by the owners), and lovely, characteristic rooms and apartments to stay in. Perfect for Country Weddings Italy and what we imagine to be the perfect setting for a country wedding. It is away from the beaten track, but easy to reach nontheless: Rome's major airport is a 40-minute drive away.

The second resort we visited today lies in the hills behind Lake Bracciano. This lake is much larger than Martignano, with 3 medieval lakeside villages, sailing schools, a ferry that travels in a triangular circuit between the three villages and several restaurants, campsites and hotels around its shores.  Motor boats are prohibited on the lake, apart from authorised vessels, to avoid pollution of the water, and it is, in fact, one of the cleanest lakes in Italy. The lake is the second in size in this region of Italy, and is also dominated by the famous Odescalchi Castle, an astounding castle built in the 15^th century, and still used today for lavish parties, events and weddings and also as a film location, as well as being open to visitors all year round.

The resort presents some amazing views of the surrounding countryside and is just five minutes from the nearest village, Trevignano Romano. It has a gorgeous swimming pool, beautiful cottages in the grounds for guests, and an excellent chef, or so we are told (we shall soon be able to vouch for this!) The place definitely ticked all our boxes as a wedding venue and as a holiday resort, and the couple owning and running the business are such friendly people that anyone staying there will surely love it. We hope to get some picture to you in the next couple of days, but in the meantime here is a picture of the afore-mentioned Odescalchi Castle, that is just a 15-minute journey from the country resort.