Day Trips from Viterbo

Genius Loci of Villa Lante, Bagnaia

Living in the layer cake of history  that is  Italy, it is easy to visit  Roman, medieval  and  Renaissance sites  all in the same day.

a corner of  Bagnaia "di dentro" 

With the first real spring weather that is just

 what we did this weekend.  

ticket collector and cats 

While others biked or jogged in the  parks and  roads around  Viterbo, we took  half day trips to some of the area’s special  historical sites.

Chain fountain, Villa Lante

Marco  Zanardi at entrance to Villa Lante 

Saturday afternoon  was dedicated to Villa Lante in Bagnaia where guide Marco Zanardo  explained the Renaissance garden’s history and the philosophy of the cardinals Gambara and Montalto Peretti who created it in the 1500s.

medieval piazza, Bagnaia 

Sunday morning  was dedicated to  Ferento, the Roman city destroyed by the Viterbese  in the 11^th century and now  a pastoral  area studded with remnants of  centuries of habitation.

horses graze at entrance to Ferento  

  

Vincenzo, our archeologist-guide 

 Ferento theatre's  black cat 

Roman building blocks 

mosaics, arches,  brick and mortar 

   I was happy to see that the SYA (School Year Abroad) students  are participating in  a study project at Ferento  along with archeologists of the Università della Tuscia.

Roman road brought back to light by SYA students

  Both these outings were marked by  sunny weather, interesting encounters, well versed guides   and a series of beautiful  cats who  accompanied the humans  who came to visit  their  territory.

Siamese of Bagnaia 

We were happy to meet professional photographer  Maurizio  Di Giovancarlo whose work  will entice you to visit the area.

  Your comments are welcome as well as suggestions for other special places to visit  near Rome, Civitavecchia  and  Viterbo.

For those  in Rome  on Tuesday March  25th, I hope to see  you at  the  presentation  of my latest book
ETRURIA STORIE E SEGRETI 
 to be held  at the prestigious library of 

Fondazione Besso, Largo di Torre Argentina,11
 on the first floor.

Time  5 p.m.  

Speakers :  Francesca Ceci, Cristina Carosi, Luca Pesante

Copies of the book are available in Rome at Libreria dei Viaggiatori, Via dei Pellegrino,78 near Campo dei Fiori  and at Anglo American Bookshop, Via della Vite near the Spanish Steps.  

UNESCO World Heritage site of Cerveteri

two colors of tufa for this  tomb  

Last week  we invited  young American archeologists  Tim and Erika  to describe their visit to  Tarquinia, one of the area’s  two UNESCO  World Heritage  sites. 

beehive shaped  funerary mounds 

The other is   Cerveteri, further south in the province of Rome,  which I visited  this week for the first time  in over  40 years, when it was  a favorite field trip for  my  international school students  back  in  the  60s and 70s . I hope  some of them who read this will  leave a comment, here below. 

entrance  drive to Banditaccia necropolis 

carved rings   decorate the tomb mounds 

my book on the area is available at the bookshop

cart ruts   dating from  300 BC

columns  with  carbon inclusions 

path among  the tombs 

Not much has changed  at the Banditaccia necropolis  since that time,  only the  majestic pines   which flank  the entrance drive  have grown and their roots have made  the  road  bumpier , but  visitors are even  more welcome thanks to the new   snack bar and  bookshop.

Isabella at the snack bar 

taking a break at the snack bar 

When  I visited  with student groups years ago  a packed lunch  was imperative and  we had to be sure to bring our own flashlights   in order  to see anything in the dark tombs.

Another change is that the Tomb  of the Reliefs , the most important,  is now  sealed off  with a glass door, like Tarquinia’s painted tombs, for protection. 

walking among  the tomb mounds 

dromos  entrance  to tombs

Tomb of the Reliefs 

below the tree, the Tomb of the Reliefs

The atmosphere felt in the necropolis  is still  awe inspiring,  mysterious and lush.  

This “City of the Dead” is a  peek into how the Etruscans  lived, what they found important and   how they perceived life after death.

closeup  of the  tufa stone blocks 

The   tombs, excavated in  tufa  stone, have   rooms  and funerary beds  to  recreate what the Etruscan homes looked like.

Outside the dromos  entrance way there are often  phallic symbols or cippi  for male occupants, or  house shaped   cippi  for female burials. 

Have you visited  either Tarquinia or Cerveteri ?  Which is your favorite Etruscan site?