Casperia: Our home for the holidays

Almost there.

View from our master bedroom.

Our street.

The old church - San Giovanni Battista. We went to Christmas Eve service here.

Out for a walk in the village. 

Since Casperia was built on top of a hill there are many steps.

More steps. Hauling groceries and luggage was a challenge.

Morning in Italy - beautiful. 

Some residents use these to haul goods - particularly contractors and the garbage collectors. 

Our front door. 

Italy in the morning - view from the village.

We enjoy visiting small communities when traveling. Not only do we avoid large crowds and the noise of the city, but also we find it easier to get to know the people and customs by observing and taking part in village life. For our Christmas trip to Rome, we decided to stay outside Rome and rent an apartment. That way we could have a proper Christmas. We rented il Sogno (the dream), a lovely, recently restored, two-bedroom apartment in the walled village of Casperia. The village of just over 1,000 people is 50 kilometers outside Rome and situated in the region of Latium. We knew the apartment would be nice from the photos and hoped that Casperia would be a quaint village in rural Italy. It delivered. 

The old city of Casperia is a walled city built on the top of a hill. The buildings were built of stone and connected by small walkways, which are usually stairs going up or down due to the hilly terrain. This offered the ideal walled city feel - with small walkways, arches and spectacular views. The only drawback is that it was a 7 - 10 minute walk from the car; so hauling luggage, groceries and gifts was a challenge. But once we got settled, we made the apartment home. We secured a fake Christmas tree at a flower shop in Cantolupa in Sabina, groceries at the Carrefour in Forano, and odds and ends at the local market in Casperia.