T H E T R A N Q U I L R E T R E A T
C E R V E T E R I
“
i could tell you a million things to do here,”
says the
copper-haired waitress, winking at me slyly. “But I think the
best thing to do is sleep.”
Cerveteri may have just as many historical highlights as
Tivoli, and, should you wish, there are Etruscan ruins, a
necropolis and other ancient sites in abundance. But the real
charm in this old town is simply doing as little as possible.
Apart from the occasional screech of a smart car manipulating
the medieval street patterns or the wheezing cough of a local
greengrocer, its streets seem to lie in a state of almost
permanent slumber.
On arrival, the best way to appreciate the town’s soporific
appeal is simply to take your watch off and head for the
pastoral pleasures of L’Isola di Rosa (
isoladirosa.com
),
a hotel
ABOUT FIVEMILES
OUTSIDE OF THE OLD TOWN,
L’ISOLA DI ROSA IS ONE
OF THE BEST RURAL RETREATS
IN ITALY
and spa surrounded by olive groves and lavender and
rosemary shrubs. About eight kilometres outside town, it’s
one of the best rural retreats in the whole of Italy.
Here, pine-wood-clad suites are painted in soothing tones,
with a free-standing bath in the living area, ideal for a long,
languorous soak. That same sense of laid-back ease can be
found in the restaurant, which has dispensed with the concept
of menus, instead serving up whatever the chef feels like
making from local ingredients, creating dishes such as rack of
lamb, followed by almond and pistachio ice cream.
When not chatting with waitresses, the main draw is
certainly the retreat’s spa, where treatments include such
curiosities as ‘drainage massages’, which remove water
retention throughout the body, and Ayurmedic procedures
that specialise in expelling toxins.
There’s a soothing, gentle Mediterranean breeze here that
slowly wafts over the retreat, and it’s this, as much as the
pampering, that’s good for what ails you. Whether it’s museum
fatigue or just aching feet from padding on cobbled streets,
the woes of the most frazzled victim of Roman tourism melt
away after a two-night stay here. It’s so alluring, you may even
consider it a go-to destination in its own right.
C E R V E T E R I
ROME TERMINI > CERVETERI
50
MINS
(
€7.20 RETURN)
50
MINS
43
KM
FROM
ROME
L’Isola di Rosa’s
spa treatments are
one of the main
reasons to visit
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