Palestrina spreads in terraces across the side of Monte Ginestro, at about 450 metres above sea level and half an hour’s drive from San Vito Romano. It is ancient Praeneste, the city that gave its name to the Via Prenestina: century after century, the houses of the old town grew up over the terraces of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, which still dominates the town from above with the Palazzo Colonna Barberini. The sanctuary and the Prenestine Archaeological Museum have their own page in the Places section.
The heart of the town is Piazza Regina Margherita, which occupies the area of the ancient forum. At its centre stands the monument to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, by the sculptor Arnaldo Zocchi: the great 16th-century composer, master of sacred polyphony, was born here around 1525, and the house where he was born, a few steps from the square, is now home to the Foundation that bears his name. Overlooking the square is the Cathedral of Sant’Agapito, dedicated to the young martyr who is the town’s patron saint: built over a Roman building of the forum, it was consecrated by Pope Paschal II in 1117. The façade preserves its Romanesque gable and the traces of an ancient sundial, beside the medieval bell tower and the early 16th-century marble portal.
A fief of the Colonna for much of the Middle Ages, Palestrina paid dearly for the family’s rivalry with the popes: it was razed to the ground at the end of the 13th century on the orders of Boniface VIII, and again in 1437 by Cardinal Vitelleschi. In the 17th century it passed to the Barberini, who rebuilt the palace at the top of the sanctuary and added the church of Santa Rosalia beside it.
From the square you climb towards the palace and the museum along alleys and stepped stairways, such as that of Via Orazio Marucchi, among stone doorways, arches and sudden views over the Sacco valley and the Alban Hills. Higher still, on top of the mountain, on the ancient acropolis, is the village of Castel San Pietro Romano. With the sanctuary, the museum and the old town, Palestrina makes a perfect half-day or full-day trip from San Vito.
Opening hours and contacts
Archaeological Museum and Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia
The museum and the sanctuary are open from Wednesday to Monday and closed on Tuesdays: the museum from 9:00 am to 7:30 pm (last entry at 6:30 pm), the sanctuary from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, or until 4:30 pm from the last Sunday of October to the last Saturday of March. Full opening hours and contacts are on the sanctuary page.
Cathedral of Sant’Agapito
The Diocese does not publish opening hours for the cathedral, only Mass times:
- Sundays and holidays: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm (in July and August 8:00 am, 11:00 am and 7:00 pm);
- weekdays: 7:30 am, 10:00 am and 6:00 pm (in July and August 7:30 am, 10:00 am and 7:00 pm).
Email: cattedralepalestrina@gmail.com
Address: Corso Pierluigi, Palestrina (Rome)
Sources: Musei e Parchi archeologici di Praeneste e Gabii - official website for the museum and the sanctuary; Diocese of Tivoli and Palestrina for the cathedral (checked in October 2026).
Photo: rgiannotti1, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; Frederick Sporchia, CC BY-SA 4.0.