Hi, I’m Gianluca.
I studied cultural anthropology, and I’ve always been fascinated by the different ways people live, move, and experience a place.
Rome is not only my city – it’s the environment I love observing, understanding, and sharing through these small stories.
Together with my wife Connie, we host travellers in our small hotel near the Vatican, where we enjoy meeting people from all over the world and exchanging perspectives – just as I do here in the blog.
If you ever feel like saying hello while exploring Rome, you’ll find us on our terrace as well, where every morning we serve breakfast with a view.
Gianluca
There is a place, just over an hour from Rome, that feels as if it belongs to another time.
And, in a way, to another country as well.
The Sanctuary of Mentorella is perched dramatically on a rocky outcrop in the Prenestini Mountains, overlooking a wide and silent valley. It is considered one of the oldest sanctuaries in Italy, yet what surprises most visitors is not only its age or its breathtaking position, but the quiet, unexpected sense of being somewhere far beyond Italy.
According to tradition, this is the place where Saint Eustace, a Roman general, experienced a profound spiritual turning point. While out hunting, he is said to have seen a vision of a deer with a radiant cross between its antlers. It is one of those stories that echo across Europe, yet here it seems to belong entirely to the landscape itself.
Over the centuries, Mentorella became a place of retreat for hermits, monks, and pilgrims. Among them, according to tradition, was Saint Benedict of Nursia, who is believed to have spent time in these caves in search of solitude and contemplation. Even today, the atmosphere remains simple, essential, almost suspended in time, as if silence were part of the architecture.
The most surprising chapter in the story of Mentorella, however, is much more recent and gives the sanctuary its unique identity today. Its deep connection with Poland began when Pope John Paul II, then Archbishop of Kraków, discovered this place during a visit to Italy. He was deeply moved by its simplicity and its distance from the crowds. As Pope, he returned here several times, always privately, drawn by the same quiet atmosphere.
In 1982, he entrusted the sanctuary to the Polish Resurrectionist Fathers, and since then Mentorella has gradually become a kind of spiritual outpost of Poland in Italy. Polish pilgrims arrive regularly, masses are often celebrated in Polish, and subtle details throughout the sanctuary reflect this enduring bond.
Reaching Mentorella is part of the experience itself. The road winds through forests and climbs steadily into the mountains, and in the final stretch the landscape opens up suddenly, almost theatrically. It is not a place you simply pass through. It is a place you arrive at, slowly, and once there, it naturally invites you to pause.
For guests staying with us at Quodlibet and Casa Martini, this is one of those destinations we especially love to suggest to those who are curious to explore beyond the usual paths. We can organize a relaxed half-day experience, or even a shorter four-hour escape, that includes the sanctuary and, if you wish, one or two nearby villages. The journey is gentle and unhurried, with time to take in the views, walk through the sanctuary, and discover small corners of the surrounding area that are rarely included in standard itineraries.
It is not a grand or crowded destination, and that is precisely its strength. Mentorella offers something increasingly rare: a sense of space, of silence, and of quiet connection between landscape, history, and spirituality. In a region so often defined by its iconic landmarks, it remains a place that reveals itself slowly, and leaves a lasting impression for exactly that reason.
