The courtyards of Palazzo Mattei were specifically designed by Carlo Maderno, to hold the statues and ancient fragments that we see there today.  It is truly a magical place, and one that I think anyone visiting Rome should seek out. Directly across the street from Palazzo Mattei, on Via Michelangelo Caetani, you will find the…

For this stay in Rome, we rented a one-bedroom apartment.  The apartment was located a block away from the Largo di Torre Argentina, in the direction of Piazza Venezia.  It was a penthouse apartment, and was accessible by a small, private elevator. One of the best features of the apartment was the terrace.  It ran…

We woke up to a sunny day, but the forecast called for rain later, so we headed out to explore a bit more, while the weather held up. Porto Santo Stefano is popular with the yachting crowd, and many of them use it as a stop, when sailing along this part of the Italian coast….

La Fortezza Spagnola, or the Spanish Fort, sits at the very top of the town.  It was originally built in 1568, as a watch tower.  Later, when the area was ruled by a Spanish governor, it was fortified, and became the structure that we see today.  Luckily, for us, the fort is now a museum,…

Porto Santo Stefano is located on the slopes of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, part of the region of Tuscany.  While there is no train station in the town, it is possible to travel by train, from Pisa to Orbetello, where you can either catch a bus to the town of Porto Santo…