Villages near Roma to stay for three nights

Orvieto, a hilltown with many sights. It’s north of Rome, a bit more than hour away by train.

Ditto I love Orvieto, I have been several times around 6 and I would go back 6 more. So close to Rome but light years away. J

Orvieto has a beautiful medieval upper town and an amazing number of top-quality sights for a place its size. You won't regret going. Orvieto is very popular. It will probably be less busy on weekdays; it seemed to me a lot of the visitors were Italians from nearby (perhaps from Rome).

hey hey Charlie
check out olivetreehill.com
it is in zagarolo, outside rome. they offer accomodations in the quite part of rome, breakfast, ask about tours the husband can recommend, cooking classes from the wife, shuttle to train station. see the town of frascati and winery, castelli romani area which is summer villa to the pope, the forno ceralli deli/shop with bakery goodies, pizza oven and "best porchetta sandwiches", lake nemi and it's history of the goddess diana, wild strawberries grown there with it's annual strawberry festival may/june.
italymagazine.com/lake nemi and its wild berries
older article but info about the area
oldfrascati.com
wine tour with pizza making and wine tasting. read up about their tours
withlocals.com/beautiful countryside day trip: castelli romani
click contact pierpaolo on website to ask what kind of tour he will do and pick you up if you stay in frascati
tourismgirl.com
exploring the castelli romani village to learn all about this area and what to visit
booking.com/frascati
a 30 minute train ride from rome to the countryside known for vineyards for white wine, small villages around lake nemi, out of the hustle & bustle of crazy busy rome and a place to relax
hope this gives you other ideas to investigate. have fun
aloha

Bracciano is a pleasant small city near Rome. It has an old core, a large castle, lake views, and a rail stop in the center of town.
https://www.marthasitaly.com/articles/203/bracciano-travel-guide

Check John Henderson s’ dog-eared passport blog. He lives in Rome and has written a lot about the Lazio towns near Rome

I would certainly concur with the recommendations for visiting Orvieto. A wonderful place well worth a visit. Easily reached from Rome.

Another possibility would be south of Rome - Castle Gandalfo and Lago Albano. Site of the Pope’s summer residence. Since Pope Francis hasn’t been using it, it has been open to visitors, both the ground level museum and the upper level papal residence. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI regularly stayed there. Also in the town are the gardens of the Villa Barberini. Very pleasant, especially in the spring. The village has several very nice restaurants and lovely views of Lago Albano. Technically, the Castle is not Italian territory but part of the Vatican. Remainder of the town would be Italian.

@betscw Good recommendation! It seems Mr. Henderson has split off the posts on destinations around Rome: https://www.travelazio.it/