The San Pellegrino quarter is the best-preserved medieval neighbourhood in Lazio and one of the finest in Italy. Compact enough to explore in an hour but intricate enough to get happily lost in for an afternoon, it occupies the southern tip of the historic centre behind the Papal Palace.
The streets here are exactly as the Middle Ages left them: narrow stone lanes, external staircases climbing house facades, arched passageways (called profferli) bridging the street at first-floor level, and tall defensive towers that once belonged to rival noble families. The Palazzo degli Alessandri on Piazza San Pellegrino dates from the early 13th century and is the largest Gothic palace in the quarter. The small Romanesque church of San Pellegrino (11th century) faces onto the same square.
The quarter is entirely residential — people live here — which gives it an authenticity that tourist-only medieval centres lack. Visit in the early morning or at dusk when the light on the stone is at its best.