{"id":20687,"date":"2023-12-01T19:31:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T19:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/?p=20687"},"modified":"2023-12-01T21:05:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T21:05:38","slug":"calcata-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/things-to-do\/calcata-italy","title":{"rendered":"Calcata, Italy: A Guide to One of the Coolest Bohemian Villages"},"content":{"rendered":"

The medieval hill town of Calcata, Italy, located just 25 miles (or 40 about kilometers) north of the Eternal City, makes for a fantastic <\/span>day trip from Rome<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you get to <\/span>C<\/span>a<\/span>lcata<\/span>, Italy via a bus from Rome\u2019s Saxa Rubra bus station or you have a car of your own, when you come around the bend in the road that snakes its way through the hills towards the silhouette of this medieval hill town, prepare to feel a sense of awe. The village, sitting atop a large mound of volcanic <\/span>tufo<\/span><\/i> stone 450 feet up and surrounded by a verdant valley, is one of the most bewitching in Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Calcata is a little-known village just to the north of Rome. It’s quirky and fun and full of surprises. Photo credit: Paul Albertella<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Which is saying a lot, considering Italy is sprinkled with majestic medieval hill towns that beckon the curious to trudge upward and explore. As romantic as they may seem to us today, hill towns are past symbols of a society gone wrong. Most hill towns in Italy came about after the fall of the Roman Empire when Italy lacked a central ruling authority. As a result, people began congregating on high hills where they built homes and a wall around the periphery for protection (safety in numbers).<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, a ruling aristocrat or lord would seize power and build a palace in the town, where local villagers would accept his position of power in exchange for protection from the often-dangerous outside world.<\/span><\/p>\n

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