Frascati

Frascati is a city in the Lazio region of central Italy, about 20 kilometres southeast of Rome. It is located on the beautiful Alban Hills near the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is famous for making a special white wine that has the same name.

Frascati is also an important place for science. The city has several international scientific laboratories, making it a key spot for research and discovery.

The city has a rich history and many artworks, making it a great place to visit for people who love history and culture.

History

The area around Frascati has a long history going back to ancient Roman times. One important find there is a big Roman villa that probably belonged to a wealthy person named Lucullus. Later, it was owned by important Roman families and leaders.

Frascati started as a small village in the 9th century. After nearby Tusculum was destroyed in 1191, many people moved to Frascati, and it grew. Over time, it was owned by different families and leaders. In 1460, walls were built around the city for protection.

In the 1500s, Frascati became a place where important people lived. In 1616, the first public and free school in Europe opened there. During World War II, Frascati was bombed and many buildings were destroyed. The city was freed from occupation on June 4, 1944.

Main sights

Villas

Frascati is famous for its beautiful villas. These big houses were built in the 16th century by important leaders and nobles in Rome. They showed off their status and were used for parties, not farming. Many of these villas are still standing today, and some have been fixed after damage during World War II.

The main villas include:

• Villa Aldobrandini
• Villa Parisi
• Villa Falconieri
• Villa Grazioli
• Villa Lancellotti
• Villa Muti
• Villa Rufinella (or Tuscolana)
• Villa Sora
• Villa Torlonia
• Villa Vecchia
• Villa Mondragone
• Villa Sciarra

Religious sites

• The Cathedral (Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter Apostle) was finished in 1598. A new front was added later. It was damaged during a war in 1943, but it has been rebuilt. Inside the front, there is a stone marker for Charles Edward Stuart.
• The Church of the Gesu (Frascati) was built at the end of the 16th century. It has special statues and beautiful painted designs on the ceiling, made to look like a real dome.
• The Bishop’s Palace, also called the old "Rocca" or "Castle", is a large building with towers. The Bishop of Frascati lives here.
• There is also a special place called Santuario della Madonna di Capocroce, which holds an important painting of the Madonna.

Museums

• The city museum at the Scuderie Aldobrandini shows old items from the ancient town of Tusculum and the nearby area. You can see models of old villas there.
• The Ethiopian Museum has works of art by famous painters and is connected to a missionary who is buried in a nearby church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. You can visit it by asking to see it.

Twin towns – sister cities

Frascati has special friendships with towns in other countries. These towns are called twin towns or sister cities. The towns are:

• Bad Godesberg in Germany
• Saint-Cloud in France
• Kortrijk in Belgium
• Windsor and Maidenhead in the United Kingdom
• Obninsk in Russia

Each year, young people from Frascati and these towns compete in a sports event called the Twin Towns Sports Competition. The competition takes place in each town one after the other. In Torlonia Park in Frascati, there are streets named after each of these twin towns.

Science laboratories

In the 1950s, scientists in Frascati built Italy's first machine for studying tiny particles. Today, Frascati has many important research centers. The European Space Agency has offices there for studying Earth from space. Other groups, like ENEA and The Spaceguard Foundation, also work in Frascati. The town has a special machine called the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade for studying energy.

Literature and music

Many famous books and stories happen in Frascati. Some of these books are Barbara's History by Amelia Edwards, L'improvvisatore by Hans Christian Andersen, and La Daniella by George Sand.

Frascati is also named in some operas, like La Frascatana from 1774 by Giovanni Paisiello.

Notable people

Frascati was the birthplace of many well-known people, including:

• Marco Amelia, an Italian footballer
• Tino Buazzelli, an actor
• Giovanni Buttarelli, a European data protection supervisor
• Pietro Campilli, a politician
• Hermann David Salomon Corrodi, an artist
• David B. Hooten, an American musician
• Francesca Lollobrigida, a speed skater who won medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics
• Arnaldo Mecozzi and Vincenzo Mecozzi, artists in Brazil
• Clemente Micara and Ludovico Micara, both important church leaders
• Maffeo Pantaleoni, an economist and politician
• Ilaria Salvatori, an Italian fencer who won a Bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Mario Titi, a landscape painter

Famous people have also lived in Frascati for a time. This includes Italo Alighiero Chiusano, a poet and writer, and Emma Marrone, a popular Italian singer. Princess Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon I of France, lived there, as did the famous writer Goethe, who wrote about his experiences in the area.