The Tuscia, named after the Latins gave the Etruscans (“Tuscia”), significantly overlaps with the province of Viterbo and is located in northern Lazio.
It has a medium altitude hills, two volcanic lakes (Bolsena and Vico), a large flat areas, a major spa area gathered around Viterbo and boasts many natural reserves, the wildlife protection.
The historical centers of medieval Tuscia arise clinging to the rock, tuff (the major town of Bagnoregio – Civita di Bagnoregio).
Beautiful and little known area of Viterbo is an anthology of the Italian landscape. And it is more an area free from large industrial and urban.
The cultural image is stronger than that of the Etruscans, the pre-Roman populations that have left valuable evidence in the cemeteries, especially in areas di Tarquinia (painted tombs), Vulci and Tuscania. The remains found (sarcophagi, pottery, gold, bronze) are in museums around the world and especially in those of Tarquinia, Vulci, Tuscania and Viterbo.
Graceful and elegant Renaissance villas: the “Sacred Wood” Bomarzo (better known as the Monster Park – Parco dei Mostri), Villa Lante in Bagnaia, Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola.
It is here that the Americans and British arrived from the north to buy houses in rural or remote inifiniti homes in city centers, close, do not forget, from Rome.

“.. Travel in Tuscia means delve into a world where time seems to stand still …”

 

Here are the main places to tap into a travel itinerary in the province of Viterbo:

The city of Viterbo, the “City of the Popes,” so named for hosting during the thirteenth century, various popes, is a characteristic and peaceful medieval town which preserves the thirteenth-century town of San Pellegrino, historical center and heart of the city, rich in charm and appeal. Impressive is the square of the Plebiscite dominated by the Palazzo dei Priori with the seventeenth-century courtyard which houses some of Etruscan sarcophagi lids. Of great magic square of S. Lorenzo where you can enjoy the striking scenery of the cathedral of San Lorenzo, the thirteenth-century Papal Palace that housed several popes in the Middle Ages, the loggia of the blessings. In the Papal Palace in Viterbo was held the longest conclave in Church history, from 1268 to 1271.

The hot springs of Viterbo (SPA, “Bullicame”)

The Tuscia has an important thermal area gathered around Viterbo, consisting of various sulfur springs that are considered among the most abundant of Italy.
The advantage lies in the chemical and physical properties of water, suitable for all types in spa therapy. Already the Etruscans used the therapeutic warm waters of the city. When in 310 BC the Romans conquered southern Etruria took advantage of the many hot springs by building fourteen Spa with magnificent buildings.
During the Middle Ages, this spa town attracted a large number of popes, from Pope Gregory IX, Pope Boniface IX, who frequented this spa to relieve the pain in his bones. In particular, Pope Nicholas V took advantage of the therapeutic properties of these waters and therefore gave the order to erect a building where he could stay when he needed it. This building was called the Pope’s Bath.

Civita diBagnoregio
Hometown of St. Bonaventure, is a wonderful example of one of a kind. Connected to the world only by a long, narrow bridge built on a broad valley, the “dying city”, “città che muore”, has long been so named because of slow landslides parts of clay, contains a cluster of medieval houses and a population of few families. Set gently on a “very top” consisting of a spur of tufa, the town overlooks the imperative vast valley below, giving the visitor a beautiful scenery.

Villa Lante in Bagnaia

It ‘s a rare composition of parks, gardens and Italian fountains builted in the sixteenth century, by Cardinal De Gambara on a possible project of Vignola. Along the routes are discovered graceful fountains,decorative pools, waterfalls and fountains. The highest terrace of the park, made attractive by the Fountain of the Flood, covered by lush vegetation, looks to the garden below the villa.

 

Directly on the shores of picturesque Bolsena Lake, the largest volcanic lake in Europe and fifth largest in Italy, Bolsena is a place of beauty and enchantment, with the castle Monaldeschi that stands out from the hill (site of the Museum Territoriale del Lago di Bolsena), the medieval and Romanesque St. Cristina, famous for the miracle of the Eucharist, for which Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Christi.

 

  

Beyond the forest of the Cimini Mountains and the picturesque  VicoLake, one arrives at Caprarola which houses the magnificent Palazzo Farnese, late-Renaissance architecture of Vignola, the pentagonal plan, commissioned by Pope Paul III Farnese. Inside superb frescoes Mannerist school, significant Sala dei Fasti Farnese and the Hall of the Council of Trent. The park is agreat tree-lined avenue, including fountains and gardens, leads to the house of Pleasure.

 

 The city is situated atop a hill on the side of the crater of Lake Bolsena at 640 meters above sea level and from this privileged position we have a vision of a unique landscape, running from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Mountains of and the basin of the lake with its beautiful islands Martana and Bisentina. The fertile valley that surrounds enclosing gardens, olive groves, vineyards, wine production, which result in the award-Moscatello Wine, called “Est! Est! Est!”. Places to visit: the fortress of the Popes, restored and decorated, it is often used for cultural events, the Cathedral of St. Margaret, easily identifiable from all over the city with its majestic dome, the Romanesque-Gothic Basilica St. Flavian, built in the eleventh century. In the third chapel on the left of the church of St. Flavian you see a plaque in honor of John Defuk, name linked to the history of the famous wine of Montefiascone.
  

Located along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tarquinia  is home to the vast Etrusca necropolis, with chamber tombs with painted decorations, ranging from sixth to second century. B.C. and the National Museum (Palazzo Vitelleschi), the most important Etruscan museums in Italy, with Greek and Etruscan pottery, funerary objects and sculptures.     

if you want to organize a holiday in Tuscia, if you want information about the area, the accommodations and other touristic informations, please contact me: