Nemi On the trail

The Rex Nemorensis: Diana's sanctuary, Caligula's ships and the lake today

Nemi

Diana's priest at Nemi kept his post until a runaway slave killed him and took it. The sanctuary where that happened is on the lake shore, and the day works its way round the crater from there.

Before you go. This itinerary meets at the Roman Ships Museum, which is closed for restoration until 7 September 2026. Call before you plan the day: the meeting point may have moved.

How the day goes

  1. The temple of Diana on the shore, where the whole story starts.
  2. The museum of the Roman ships and what is left of Caligula's hulls.
  3. The path towards the Roman emissary that drains the crater.
  4. Then working businesses on the lake: the fish farm, il Nemus, Le Erbe della Luna.
  5. The tasting stop closes the round.

The ship museum has been shut for restoration, so ask whether it has reopened before you count on seeing the hulls.

Where it is

Nemi at its real position from Rome, with everywhere else we list behind it — so you can see how far out this one is.

Nemi, and where it is from Rome Nemi drawn at its real position relative to Rome, about 47 minutes by car. The faint dots are the other places we list, so you can see how far out this one is. 47 min Rome Nemi

Open it where the roads are

Takes you to Nemi — the town, not the meeting point. Ask them where exactly to turn up; the number is on this page.

Getting there

Getting there, the comfortable way

  • 47 mindrive from the middle of Rome
  • 32 kmeach way
  • 4 honce you are there
  • Rent a car for the day

    The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.

    • You pick it up in Rome and drop it back in Rome
    • No timetable to build the day around
    • The stops on the way are the good part, and they need a car

    Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.

    See prices on Localrent
  • Have a driver take you, door to door

    No parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.

    • Picked up where you are staying, dropped back there
    • No parking to find and no ZTL to worry about
    • Nobody spends the day driving

    Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.

    See prices on Welcome Pickups

Also around Nemi

Nemi With your hands

Four-hour class on the four Roman pasta sauces

A four-hour practical class on gricia, amatriciana, carbonara and cacio e pepe, taught step by step with the participants doing every stage from preparing the ingredients to pla…

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Nemi With your hands

Pick herbs on the farm and blend your own tisanes

A sensory walk through the farm's cultivated and wild medicinal herbs, then each participant picks a selection and blends tisanes with the grower — separating functional blends …

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Nemi With your hands

Cook with edible flowers picked on the farm

Participants pick edible flowers — cultivated organically on the farm and wild ones in season — and turn them into two preparations, between drinks and cooked dishes, depending …

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Photograph by Deblu68, Wikimedia Commons — Public domain. Not this place: it shows what the day looks like, and will be replaced with the operator's own photograph or ours from the field.

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