41.93° N · 13.09° E
A day trip from Rome: the Sacro Speco hanging from the rock, the monastery of Santa Scolastica, the medieval village and rafting on the Aniene.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The monastery hanging from the rock above the cave where St Benedict lived: superimposed churches covered in frescoes and the oldest portrait of St Francis.
The only one of the thirteen monasteries of St Benedict in Subiaco still standing: three cloisters, Cosmatesque, Gothic and Renaissance, and a church with Gregorian chant.
A 5 km raft descent of the Aniene, in the Monti Simbruini park, suitable for families from age 2–3; a livelier power rafting version.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
The monasteries are open all year, morning and afternoon. Rafting and excursions run all year, but the river and the mountains look their best from April to October. On Sunday morning part of the Sacro Speco closes for Masses.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
By car the day goes far: the two monasteries in the morning, the river or the bridge in the afternoon and, if you have time left, the climb to Monte Livata. From Rome, about an hour on the A24 and the Tiburtina; the valley is narrow and the bends many.
Subiaco is about 75 km east of Rome, in the Aniene valley, and can be reached from the city's two airports: Fiumicino (FCO), with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga, Alicante, Palma and the Canary Islands, among others, and Ciampino (CIA), with low-cost routes. By car, from Ciampino it is about an hour; from Fiumicino, a little over an hour and a quarter, by the ring road and the A24.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Subiaco is one of the most complete plans with children from Rome: the Sacro Speco is something like a castle perched on a cliff, with a cave, and the Aniene can be rafted from age 2 or 3. Monasteries in the morning and the river in the afternoon.
For teenagers, Subiaco has what Rome does not: adventure on the river and in the mountains. Vivere l'Aniene's power rafting and canyoning are the hook; the Sacro Speco, hanging from the rock, tends to surprise them more than they expect.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: The guesthouse of the Benedictine monks next to the monastery of Santa Scolastica, with rooms for 1 to 5 people and a restaurant open to all.
Why we like it: Family farm stay on a hill above the upper Aniene valley, with double or multiple rooms, two apartments and a country-cooking restaurant; from €90 a double.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the menu of the day of home cooking; ask when you book
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
41.96° N · 12.80° E
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41.75° N · 12.66° E
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41.57° N · 12.97° E
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41.89° N · 12.48° E
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Tips
It opens at 9:00 and closes at midday; Santa Scolastica reopens at 15:30.
The foresteria saves you going down to the village and back up.
In summer and at weekends it fills up.
Subiaco lies in the upper Aniene valley, about 75 kilometres east of Rome, among the mountains of the Monti Simbruini regional park. St Benedict withdrew here in the late 5th century, lived three years in a cave and founded thirteen monasteries before leaving for Montecassino. From that history two of the most impressive places in Lazio remain: the Sacro Speco, a monastery hanging from a rock wall, and Santa Scolastica, with its three cloisters. Around them, a medieval village and a clear-water river you can run by raft.
The Sacro Speco, first. The monastery of San Benedetto was built over the saint's cave, on several levels of churches and chapels covered in frescoes, and holds the portrait of St Francis of Assisi considered the oldest. It opens in the morning from 9:00 to 12:30 and you enter accompanied by a guide; on Sunday morning part of the sanctuary closes for Masses.
Santa Scolastica, a few hundred metres lower down, is the only one of St Benedict's thirteen monasteries still standing, with its Renaissance, Gothic and Cosmatesque cloisters. Italy's first printing press was set up here in the 15th century. It reopens in the afternoon at 15:30.
The old town and the St Francis bridge, in the afternoon: the village spirals up to the abbatial Rocca, and on the outskirts the single-arched medieval bridge crosses the Aniene. If you're with children or feel adventurous, swap the walk for rafting on the Aniene, which can be done by raft from age 2 or 3, or for a guided excursion in the Simbruini.
By car, around an hour: A24 motorway to the Vicovaro-Mandela exit and the SS5 Tiburtina along the Aniene valley. The monasteries are about 3 km from the village, along a road with parking at the foot of the Sacro Speco, from which you climb a ten-minute path.
Without a car, the blue Cotral buses leave from the Ponte Mammolo terminal, on metro line B, and reach Subiaco in about an hour and a half, passing through Tivoli and the valley villages. In Subiaco, for the monasteries, take a taxi or an uphill walk. Check the return times: on public holidays there are fewer buses.
The monasteries are open every day of the year. From April to October the valley is green, the river invites rafting and the afternoons are long: the Sacro Speco opens in the afternoon until 18:00 in summer and until 17:00 in winter. Avoid Sunday morning if you want to see all of the Sacro Speco; on the other hand, at Santa Scolastica the 10:00 Mass on public holidays is sung in Gregorian chant.
Next to Santa Scolastica, the monks' foresteria has rooms for one to five people and a restaurant open also to those not staying. In the countryside, the Agriturismo Colle Tocci cooks with its own produce and has rooms from €90 for a double with breakfast.
Questions
By Cotral bus from Ponte Mammolo (metro B), around an hour and a half.
In the morning from about 9:00 to 12:30 and in the afternoon from 15:00 or 15:30, until 17:00 or 18:00 depending on the season.
The visits are accompanied by a guide; confirm the conditions at each monastery.
Yes, soft rafting takes children from age 2 or 3 and you don't need to be able to swim.
A day: the monasteries in the morning and afternoon, and the river or the village in between.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lazio/subiaco
