Saturday in Nemi

On Saturday we took a day trip to Nemi, a town in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi,a volcanic crater lake, about 30 km southeast of Rome.

The 1,700 residents of the town live and work

in buildings dating from the middle ages to the 20th century.

The lake was used by the Roman Emperor Caligula for several luxury barges where he would entertain guests. One barge was actually a floating temple and another barge incuded a marble Roman bath complex. (Later in the day we went to the nearby Lake Albano below Castel Gondolfo and ejoyed some time in a paddle boat.)

This is a bust of Caligula in the town piazza.

A street musician greeted us as we arrived in the town.

We were tempted with displays of pork products.

We had a delicious pranzo (lunch) in a restaurant on the cliff overlooking the lake. Of course we had strawberries with gelato for dessert

Nemi is famous for its wild strawberries, which are smaller and sweeter than commercially grown varieties. Nemi's strawberries are grown on the sides of the volcanic crater, which creates a microclimate that retains the warmth of the sun and provides a wind shield.