Labico (a comune of approximately 6,500 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Rome, 40km southeast of the capital on Via Casilina between Valmontone and Monte Compatri, in the transition zone between the Castelli Romani volcanic hills and the Lepini foothill zone) is known in Italian food culture primarily for one institution: the Antonello Colonna Resort and Restaurant (Via del Fortino 1, Labico, the chef Antonello Colonna's country property outside Rome, where the one Michelin star restaurant operates in a converted farm complex with the specific Roman Campagna landscape as setting). Antonello Colonna (the Roman chef who first established his reputation at the Open Colonna restaurant in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome and who has developed the most consistently recognizable interpretation of creative Roman cuisine over three decades) chose Labico for the country property project in the early 2000s, a decision that made the village name familiar to Italian food professionals while leaving it unknown to the general public.
The ancient Labici (the Latin town of the early Republic, one of the cities involved in the 30 Latin towns' treaty with Rome of 493 BC, then destroyed and rebuilt as a Roman colony in the 4th century BC, then declining in favor of the more strategically located Praeneste and Tusculum) has left archaeological traces in the Labico territory: a Roman villa complex partially excavated on the Mons Albanus slopes, inscriptions in the Labico municipal museum, and the specific Via Latina road alignment that has determined the modern Via Casilina route through the area.
How do you want to see it?
Lazio, ItalyCompare the same experience on GetYourGuide and Viator, save what you like to My Trip, share it, and book when you’re sure. Nearest to this page first.
Labico: The Restaurant and the Village
Antonello Colonna Resort and Restaurant
The Antonello Colonna Resort (the country property with 12 rooms, an outdoor pool, and the Michelin-starred restaurant that uses the farm's kitchen garden as the primary vegetable and herb source) represents the specific Roman haute cuisine approach that distinguishes Colonna's work: the use of Roman and Lazio indigenous ingredients (the puntarelle chicory, the guanciale di Amatrice, the Pecorino Romano DOP, the abbacchio romano) in technically precise preparations that maintain the flavor identity of the ingredient while applying the technical refinement of the fine dining format. The tasting menu (approximately €120-150 per person, wine excluded) changes seasonally with the kitchen garden production. The restaurant is accessible to non-hotel guests by reservation (antonellocolonna.it).
The Labico Village
The Labico village center (the medieval cluster on the hill above Via Casilina, with the church of San Bernardino da Siena and the 16th-century fortification that gives the Colonna property its name, "del Fortino," the little fortress) is a 15-minute walk from the restaurant and provides the specific contrast of the rural Castelli Romani fringe with the sophisticated restaurant destination: medieval stone, olive trees on the surrounding slopes, and the specific quietness of a small Lazio comune that hasn't been transformed by the restaurant's presence.
Q&A: Labico
Is the Antonello Colonna restaurant worth the journey from Rome for a single meal?
Yes, for visitors specifically interested in contemporary Roman cuisine at its most technically refined expression in a non-urban setting. The journey (40km by car, approximately 50 minutes from central Rome via the A1 and Via Casilina) is manageable for a lunch or dinner. The specific Labico advantage over the Rome city Colonna restaurant: the country setting, the kitchen garden sourcing visible in the dishes, and the quietness of the Lazio countryside versus the Palazzo delle Esposizioni urban format. The overnight option (the 12-room resort) extends the experience to include the morning kitchen garden walk and the Lazio Campagna landscape at dawn.
