Italian Road Trip from Naples to Rome

We just returned from a week-long trip in Italy. Before I dig in and write posts about our time spent there in Naples and in Rome, I wanted to share a less detailed post of pictures from our travel between the two cities.

This was our first trip to Italy as a family. There are so many cities to visit in Italy, but we decided Rome should be our first. Due to flight options, as well as personal reasons discussed below, we flew into Naples first and then drove to Rome a few days later. This let us add Naples to our itinerary and make a road trip!

My husband’s grandfather was a pilot in World War II. He was killed when his plane was shot down in Italy. His family has his flight logs and my husband has done research into his grandfather’s time in Italy. With that information, my husband plotted a driving route for us to take from Naples to Rome so that we could see some of the cities where his grandfather stayed between missions, where he flew missions, and ultimately, where he was killed. We were also able to visit his grave site in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Italy at the end of our trip.

This was a very special trip for us to make and for my husband to share with our son, and with their family through photographs. In addition to the personal significance, I also enjoyed seeing some Italian countryside and small villages away from the bigger cities filled with traditional tourist sites.

Here are some things we saw along the way.

Homes — A small town somewhere between Naples and Rome.

During our stop in Caiazzo for a picnic lunch, I took this video of a local man selling vegetables from his truck. We could hear him before we saw him and it took us a few minutes to figure out what was going on!

Caiazzo stoop — A lovely front door in Caiazzo.

Italian Ruins — Ruins on top of a hill, somewhere between Naples and Rome.

Hill Cross — A cross atop a hill in Italy, somewhere between Naples and Rome.

Building — Somewhere between Naples and Rome.

Italian road — A dog and a woman, not together, walk along a road. I forgot to make note of the town name here.

Italian villa — Somewhere between Naples and Rome.

Mozzarella — A beautiful sight … fresh, local mozzarella being sold in a rest stop. I love seeing the different foods available in rest stops in different countries. Food culture is such an important part of a country’s identity.

I didn’t always make note of where I was taking pictures. I was too busy enjoying the view! Since I knew these scenes wouldn’t make the cut for my posts about Naples and Rome, I wanted to share them on their own.

I love it when we can make small road trips during our travels and see life outside the big cities. Sometimes it means stepping outside of our comfort zone (driving in Italy is a little wild!) and the safe feeling of a tourist industry bubble, but I enjoy the unexpected surprises we often find along the way and the ability to see “real life” quietly occurring as we pass through.