Castel San Pietro Romano is a village of a few hundred inhabitants on top of Monte Ginestro, at 763 metres above sea level, right above Palestrina and about forty minutes’ drive from San Vito Romano. It stands on the ancient acropolis of Praeneste: its polygonal walls, made of large limestone blocks, ran down the mountain as far as the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia. According to tradition, the apostle Peter preached on these heights, and the village takes its name from him. Since 2017 it has been one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.
At the highest point are the remains of the Rocca dei Colonna, the fortress built in the 10th century and long held by the powerful Roman family. Illustrious prisoners were locked up within its walls: Conradin of Swabia, in 1268, before being taken to Naples and executed, and the poet Jacopone da Todi, imprisoned on the orders of Boniface VIII, who according to tradition composed the Stabat Mater here. From the fortress and the viewpoint the eye sweeps across the plain as far as Rome and, on clear days, as far as the sea.
The village gathers around the little square of the church of San Pietro Apostolo, rebuilt in 1732 under Pope Clement XII to a design by Nicola Michetti, with a portico on the façade and a brick bell tower rising above the rooftops. All around are cobbled alleys, arches and stone houses.
Those alleys have also been a film set: here in 1953 Luigi Comencini shot “Pane, amore e fantasia” (Bread, Love and Dreams), with Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida, and in the following years other films were set here, from “Pane, amore e gelosia” to “Il federale”. It was the photojournalist Adolfo Porry Pastorel, who served as mayor of Castel San Pietro, who brought cinema to the village. The story is told by the MuDi, the Museo Diffuso, which is based in the village.
Opening hours and contacts
MuDi - Museo Diffuso
The museum, with its Visitor Centre in Palazzo Mocci, is open from Tuesday to Sunday; it is closed on Mondays.
- 1 October to 31 May, Tuesday to Friday: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm and 3:00 – 6:00 pm;
- 1 October to 31 May, Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and 3:00 – 6:00 pm;
- 1 June to 30 September, Tuesday to Friday: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm and 4:00 – 6:00 pm;
- 1 June to 30 September, Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and 4:00 – 7:00 pm;
- closed: 1 January, 25 and 26 December.
Guided tours must be booked. Opening hours may change during events and exhibitions.
Phone: +39 331 454 7183
Email: direzionemuseodiffusocspr@gmail.com
Address: Piazza San Pietro, Castel San Pietro Romano (Rome)
Rocca dei Colonna
The fortress is one of the sites of the Museo Diffuso, which however does not publish separate opening hours for it: to find out when it can be visited, it is best to ask the museum.
Sources: MuDi - Museo Diffuso di Castel San Pietro Romano, pages Informazioni utili for opening hours and Contatti for phone and email (checked in October 2026).
Photo: Museo diffuso Castel San Pietro Romano, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; Frederick Sporchia, CC BY-SA 4.0.