AN ENGLISH PARADISE IN ROME

In 1920 the Venerable English College Rector, Cardinal Arthur Hinsley, proved he had a visionary business sense when he bought Villa Palazzola. And like all visionaries, he had a soft spot for panoramic viewpoints.
It was this very acumen and desire to provide an extraordinarily beautiful summer setting for his seminarians which gave rise to what Villa Palazzola would eventually become: one if Rome's premier conference. retreat, holiday and pilgrim centres.
Nowadays, Palazzola has built a solid reputation us the so-called "English home" to many UK, Irish and American visitors to Rome. Its hospitality is world-renowned.
A little history....
"The winds of fortune blew after the first World War when Hinsley acquired Palazzola ('Little Palace") at a bargain to offer his students respite from Rome's sweltering summers: says the Villa's current director, Michael Severance, who heads up Palazzola's marketing programme in collaboration with the College's administration team.
"Since 1993 past Rectors, together with the Belle Arti (Italian Heritage Foundation) and the Italian Archeological Superintendent. have invested considerably to restore a priceless part of the national heritage and to upgrade Palazzola's facilities for hosting conferences, retreats and several thousand travellers throughout the year."
Some 30004000 years ago Palazzola's majestic hillside was the site of primitive Trojan settlements collectively known as Alba Longa, then developed into the regal floor plan and hanging gardens of a Roman patrician villa, whose ruins were later converted to an llth C. Cistercian monastery and finally renovated with modem additions from 1708 to the present by successive religious communities.
Palazzola's director notes char Palazzola's guests are absolutely fascinated by the still-standing late Roman Republican architecture (circa 180 B.C.), which includes exposed 'opus reticulatum' masonry, traces of floor mosaics in the former royal entry court (today the chapel), quarried peperino caverns (formerly hermit living quarters). underground barrel tufa arches below the garden platform (now a wine cellar), and, in the volcanic rock face, a 2000 year-old cistern still used for irrigating the Villa's lush green lawns. What's more, there is a Roman Consul's tomb' adorned with stone "fasces" carvings in the upper garden.
"Our best kept secret", Severance says, "is not only the many sturdy Roman remains found within our property, but surely the Via Sacra the ancient pilgrimage route beginning in the Roman Forum and reportedly passing just under our Roman tomb, through the central gardens and winding up the hillside behind us, where the ancient cobblestone road is still perfectly intact. Here, at the summit of panoramic Mons Albanus, senior military officers sacrificed to Jupiter for spiritual preparation and thanksgiving for Rome's many victories, just as Caesar did before and after the Gallic Wars."
By adding a heating system to the Villa's medieval chapel last January, the English College affirms its commitment to attract even more winter visitors, school groups as well as conference and retreat trade. The final phase of its remodelling plans will provide 23 en-suite rooms by Easter 2006. Work got underway this February.
"This latest restructuring of the Villa's.18th C. annex is
in line with our business model to lure individuals and groups requiring some 'basic' modern comforts when spending a great deal of time in their rooms reading, praying and resting. But without necessarily to be in a 'Hilton'," Severance said.
Palazzola's contemporary remodelling began after the English College returned from 'exile' to Rome in 1946., soon after the Villa was liberated from German occupying forces in 1945. It was Luftwaffe soldiers who were sent to Palsl7ola for rest and recreation. This changed when Allied trips landed in Anzio and German soldiers took up arms in bloody local combat.
"Sadly, as the Allied divisions advanced up the coastal plains to the Alban Hills, Palazzola's high walls and rooms served more as a military stronghold and hospital to treat soldiers wounded in vicious hill town battles," "Yet it was thanks to the talented German medics that we have rare pacifist frescos painted on our refectory walls. It reminds us everyday that Palazzola, even during one of the most dreadful years in modern history, still worked her magical spell of peace over her lodgers." he said.
Looking for Paradise? Cheap flights, generous hospitality & easy access to Rome
In the past, the Villa's breathtaking panorama and surrounding natural backdrop drew poets, mystics and religious. Today, its visitors are for the most part parish and diocesan groups, Christian organisations and families visiting Rome from the United Kingdom, Ireland, America and other English-speaking countries.
The main attraction is Palazzola's charming setting and practical location, which includes a stunning bird's eye view of the papal summer palace in Castel Gandolfo, Lake Albano, the Mediterranean and Rome just a few miles away. Added to this are comfortable rooms, a library with an open log fireplace, abundant hearty Italian cuisine, wine (a piacere!) included at meals, 24-hour Internet service, a tennis court and swimming pool.
The immediate surrounding area also offers visitors several panoramic nature trails, excellent family-run trattorias, historic villages and lakeside recreational facilities. like sailing, paddle boats and privately operated volcanic sand beaches. The Roman seaside resorts of Anzio, Nettuno and Ostia are a mere 3040 minutes away by car.
The cheap flights to Rome's Ciampino airport, only 15 minutes away, make Palazzola a very affordable option and a real substitute to guest houses and retreat-conference centres in the UK. Most lodgers hire vehicles, take public train, bus and underground transit or make use of affordable cab services arranged by Palazzola's staff when exploring local towns and Rome,
"We have guests arrive saying it nearly cost them more to travel by train to (London's) Stansted Airport than their return flight to Rome!," says the Director, who notes they come in droves on RyanAir, EasyJet and other inexpensive airlines serving the U.K. and Ireland.
Mr Severance points to one guest's remark in the Villa's well-filled guest book: "Palazzola = 'paradiso'."