Olevano Romano, located on Mount Celeste, just over an hour’s drive from Rome, offers visitors the opportunity to admire the entire Upper Valley of the Sacco River.
It still preserves its medieval appearance with the baronial palace, the remains of the castle dominated by the ancient tower, and the church of Santa Maria di Corte (first half of the 14th century).
Olevano’s landscape has been a source of inspiration for many foreign artists, especially scholars of Fine Arts passionate about en plein air painting, who discovered the charming location through the Tyrolean painter Koch.
Even today “La Serpentara”, an ancient oak forest surrounding the city, is a must as it remains a rich source of inspiration. It belongs to the Prussian Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, while “Casa Baldi“, a gathering place for artists and poets, bears the insignia of the Academy of Fine Arts in Bonn.
The Museum-Centre for the Study of European Landscape Painting is dedicated to painters and poets who stayed here during the Renaissance; the polygonal mules of pre-Roman times, the baronial tower from where you can admire the panorama of the Upper Sacco Valley.
It seems that the woods of Serpentara inspired Dorè for his famous drawings of the “dark forest” illustrating Dante’s Inferno.
Culinary products are another highlight of Olevano, such as pappardelle with game ragù, seasoned with a hunter’s sauce without tomatoes, scented with juniper, marinated wild boar in ‘Cesanese’ wine, Sora Maria’s cannelloni filled with beef stew, then gratinated with buffalo mozzarella, and “gnocchetti a coda de soreca”, pasta made with water and flour, similar to strozzapreti. Among the typical products are “Tisichella,” “Spumone,” “Frittelle di zucca e cavolfiore,” “Ventricina Olevanese,” “Ciambella di magro,” and “Panpepato.” Olevano is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves and owes its national and international fame especially to wine, the famous Cesanese di Olevano.
The picturesque landscape makes Olevano Romano appealing for a wide range of excursions, from the Lepini Mountains to the Prenestini Mountains, to the Upper Valley of the Sacco River and the Simbruini Mountains. There are also many activities to enjoy in these areas, and for ski enthusiasts, Monte Livata is the preferred destination.