Bolsena, Italy — As I walked near the shores of this glistening, crystal blue lake, I could easily see why it draws thousands of visitors every year. Boats large and small lined its docks. On this day they were quiet and still. Tourist season was already behind me. Though comfortably warm, hints of the crispness of new fall air were present, yet the verdant landscape that surrounded the lake still displayed its deciduous green — the peek of fall colors were still at least two weeks away.
It is known to most as Lake Bolsena. But though this body of water is much like others that grace the Italian landscape, unlike the others, it boasts a distinctive and dramatic natural history — one that, unbeknownst to most of Europe’s visiting tourists, makes it the largest volcanic lake on the subcontinent. Created as a depression when the area collapsed after a massive subterranean magmatic chamber drained through volcanic eruptions hundreds of thousands of years ago, it then became a central feature of the geography. Even more significant, however, were the multiple associated eruptions that blanketed the surrounding region with volcanic material, creating a new geologic canvas that was shaped by erosion over the ensuing millennia into a dramatic landscape of steep, cavernous valleys and isolated vertical spurs or buttes of tuffaceous (tufa) rock.
The ancients built their high, defensible settlements atop these spurs, and today a remarkable natural and constructive composition of scenic historic hilltop cities and villages span the confluence of Italy’s regions of Umbria, Tuscany and Lazzio.
It was on one of these hilltop locations that I arrived on September 29, 2024 with a small group of veteran travelers of a unique specialty tour company known as Wayfaring Walks. Typically taking small groups to places beyond the usual madding crowd destinations most tourists experience, Wayfaring Walks provides its clients with off-the-beaten-path hiking and walking opportunities through some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery and culturally stimulating sites.
The scenic town of Orvieto was one of those sites. Originally an Etruscan settlement and stronghold, it is thought that this was the location of the Etruscan city of Velzna, and there are still traces of the Etruscan occupation of the site. This was our first stop on what became a once-in-a-lifetime journey….
Day 1: Orvieto
Standing at the edge of a beautiful public park, I peered out and down at the panoramic landscape spread out below me. This was a first for me. The old site of Orvieto sits atop a massive spur of tufa stone, much in form like the isolated buttes one sees in the American Southwest. Every point along the perimeter of Orvieto affords a breathtaking vista of the world around it, with what appears to be a nearly 90% verticality of stone from where one stands at the edge of the city to the adjacent verdant valley surface far below.
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A dramatic cliffside view from Orvieto.
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A view of a portion of the historic defensive wall/fortification at the edge of Orvieto.
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View of the landscape below from Orvieto.
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But what makes Orvieto unique are the incredible subterranean features dug and carved into and through the soft tufa stone beneath the urbanized surface. Our guide takes us first to the city’s iconic Pozzo di San Patrizio, or ”Well of St. Patrick”. Dug and constructed between 1527 and 1537 at the request of Pope Clement VII, it was commissioned at least in part to serve as a secure water supply for the people of Orvieto during times of wartime siege, the name inspired by a medieval Irish legend of a pathway down to Purgatory. We entered the shaft of the well and proceeded slowly down the winding, interior stone steps. They were part of a unique double helix of stairs that wound down and back up the shaft. During medieval times, these stairs afforded teams of donkeys to carry water vessels down to the fresh pool of water at the bottom, and after having them filled, would then ascend back up the same set of stairs without ever crossing paths with the descending teams. It is a remarkable work of engineering and we had the exciting opportunity to experience the same movement as we stepped within its deep recesses centuries later. I counted 248 steps, pacing myself with some stops to rest along the way but marveling at the almost otherworldly atmosphere presented by the surrounding centuries-old stonework and 70 window openings that provided illumination from the outside.
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Above and below: inside the Pozzo di San Patrizio
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Later, beyond the well, we entered the complex labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, wells, and some of the more precisely carved-out rooms of the subterranean city that lay unseen beneath the streets and structures of Orvieto’s historic center. Only a small fraction of what has been documented to exist beneath the surface has been excavated and prepared for modern visitors. Our guide stepped us through that representative and publicly available space that hard digging and carving work performed by an untold number of laborers created through the distinctively characteristic soft and pliable tufa stone of the region. It made for ideal quarrying, in order to obtain material needed for construction above during medieval times.The walls and ceilings still showed the last gestures or movements of the workers in this place as they shaped the interior spaces with their pick axes centuries ago. Our guide shows us a place where the quarrying laborers came across an ancient Etruscan well. I peer down into its deep vertical recesses below, wondering what those medieval laborers must have thought about their discovery. Throughout previous excavations and exploratory investigations of this subterranean world, archaeologists have found the trace evidence of the original ancient Etruscan occupation of what must have been, and clearly was for its medieval occupants, a securely fortified and easily defensible bastion from potential enemies.
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In another large space, the guide walks us through the remains of a medieval olive press. And in yet another, an amazingly large columbarium, where centuries before the town’s inhabitants raised and sustained pigeons to produce eggs for sustenance. This was an underground city that featured many of the elements of industry necessary for the economy of a thriving small population.
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The “Etruscan Well”.
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Olive Press
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Olive Press Millstone
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Above and below: subterranean columbarium
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At the surface, we walked through the scenic and medieval ambience of the city’s streets to what is one of Italy’s most iconic cathedrals, the remarkable duomo that has made Orvieto one of Italy’s must-see small towns. The duomo dominates the townscape and has been, since its first cornerstone was laid in 1290 AD, the heart and soul of Orvieto. The exterior of the structure is striped in white travertine and greenish-black basalt, much like the similar and equally iconic cathedral of Siena and other cathedrals in Italy of the time. Most visually stunning to me, however, was the duomo’s facade, graced with the work of master sculptor Lorenzo Maitani of the 14th century.
Inside the duomo, of special note is the Corporal of Bolsena, its story revolving around a eucharistic miracle in Bolsena in 1263, when a consecrated host began to bleed (yes, blood) onto a corporal (a small cloth upon which the host and chalice would rest during performance of the Mass). The miracle of the blood was believed to affirm the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation — the bread and wine literally becoming the Body and Blood of Christ during consecration in the Mass. The story is that the miraculous bleeding of the host occurred in the hands of an officiating priest who harbored doubts about the transubstantiation. The Corporal of Bolsena is preserved in a reliquary inside the duomo to this day.
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Above and below: the facade of the iconic Orvieto Duomo.
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Above and below: the Orvieto duomo, detail view.
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Inside the duomo, a testimony of faith and the story of the biblical account was represented through incredibly rendered wall paintings that decorated its interior spaces.
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Day 2: Following the Aqueduct, and the Dying City
Wayfaring Walks tours are best known for their almost daily walking and hiking elements, and this adventure was no exception. The highlight of our first full day after our Orvieto town experience centered on what our guide leader described as what would be the most rigorous test of our walking/hiking skills and stamina — the woodland trail adjacent to the 13th century aqueduct that overlooked Orvieto. We began this trek on relatively level ground, but soon came to a point where we branched away and up a broad trail along the old aqueduct. The hike was almost totally uphill, a modest cardiovascular experience challenging our strength and endurance. But the natural woodland scenery along the way was well worth the effort, and with our very able and knowledgeable guide, Alessandro Tombelli, with us, it became a journey into the lush diversity of flora that graced our path on either side. Alessandro is an expert gardener and human storehouse of information about the plant life of Italy. We learned and marveled as much about the plants and trees around us as the occasional villas and historic structures we observed along the path. At one point, we stopped near a level clearing near a large agricultural field and enjoyed a panoramic view of old Orvieto in the distance.
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View of Orvieto in the distance from our trail.
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The end of our hike brought us to another parklike clearance with picnic tables among the shade of trees to enjoy a thoughtfully prepared snack of fresh fruit, bread, drinks, and other food items. It was a welcome and, for us, well-earned break. Conversational camaraderie here began to build the bonds of our group that would last for the rest of our tour.
Following lunch, a very short walk to the nearby site of the well-preserved, hidden, 5th century BC underground tomb of an ancient Etruscan noble family, today known as the Hescanas Tomb, greeted the curiosity of our minds. The Hescanas Tomb is famed for the rich traces of fresco illustrations on its interior walls. Little is known about this, obviously wealthy noble family, other than the evidence indicating that it must have been an influential or well-regarded force in the area’s society in their time. The tomb was closed to us on this day, unfortunately, as it was temporarily closed off as necessary work was being performed in and around the tomb structure.
From here, our group was transported to the modern town of Civita di Bagnoregio, where we enjoyed a large lunch in one of the town’s many choice restaurants, before proceeding on for a group walk through town to the entrance to the iconic old medieval town of the same name. Few towns in Italy can compare to the scenic eye-candy of this imposing hilltop settlement. From a distance, it is a breathtaking example of the quintessential hilltop settlement with roots reaching back to Etruscan times. Photographic images are immediately eye-catching, but this is a place that must be visited physically in person to capture the full magic of this ingenuous and imaginative architectural creation at the pinnacle of an almost skyscraper-like geologic formation.
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First view of Civita di Bagnoregio.
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Civita di Bagnoregio has to be earned: a long ascending walk to the breathtaking (literally) hilltop town.
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The church in the center of Civita di Bagnoregio was built during medeival times but the facade was remodeled during the Renaissance.
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To approach it and enter the gate of this citadel, one must traverse a long incline, a ramp-like suspended road construction that ends just before one winds around to the stone entrance gate. It is hard to get lost inside, for it is a small, simple settlement with a central church and medieval period houses that fill every square inch of its characteristically storybook visual presence. This is a place, both outside and in, that any imaginative filmmaker would say was made for a jaw-dropping backdrop.
A refreshing gelato punctuated my rest after the walk up to and through the gate to the town’s central square, or piazza. Afterwards, it took me only 30 minutes to walk every square foot within its walled space, and at every interior edge of the site open to view was a magnificent view of the steep, cavernous, and verdant terrain surrounding it.
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Above and below: walking through Civita di Bagnoregio, one can see it is almost entirely medieval in its appearance.
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The view outward from the edge of the town.
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Interestingly, it has been called “the dying city”, as the underlying clay foundation of the rocky spur that supports the town is eroding much faster than the volcanic tufa stone above the clay, seriously undermining its continuing stability. Centuries from now, unless measures are taken to rescue the town, its collapsed wonder will lie in ruins far below its present level. A sad future for a magnificent site.
Day 3: The Pilgrim’s Trail and Lake Bolsena
The Camino de Santiago pilgrims trail, also known as the Way of St. James, is Europe’s best known network of pilgrimage routes, leading to the shrine of the apostle James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where many believe the apostle James was ultimately buried. Somewhat less known but equally historic in its significance is the Via Francigena (“the road that comes from France”), an ancient pilgrimage route beginning at the Canterbury Cathedral in England and winding through France and Switzerland to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where the pilgrims would embark by sea for the Holy Land. In medieval times, this was the route used by those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul.
It was on a portion of this route, beginning at San Lorenzo Nuovo, that we began our walk on the third day. Gloriously picturesque, the trail took us through lush woodland as well as past rich farmland bristling with crops. Many points afforded us a scenic overlook of Lake Bolsena in the distance. All the while, Alessandro pointed out the variety of flora along the way, educating us with fascinating botanical information we never would have absorbed or enjoyed on any other conventional tour. Near the end of our hike, we passed several of the many agriturismo villas (agriculturally based operations or activities that bring visitors to a farm or ranch), ending with our arrival to meet our van and its open doors revealing a new assortment of drinks and snacks to re-energize and refresh us for the coming hours. As it was, it served as a welcome appetizer to the following delectable lunch we enjoyed in a local restaurant in the waterside resort town of Bolsena. Here we ordered food we likely never would have thought to eat back in the U.S. And somehow, the view of the glistening blue water of the lake only a few feet from our table made my meal taste better, a kind of visual seasoning.
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Above and below: on the trail of the Via Francigena.
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On the Lake
Anyone visiting Bolsena should not leave before taking a boat ride on the lake, which is exactly what we did following our lunch. On this day in early autumn, few tourists could be seen near the lake and around the docks where we boarded our vessel — small but easily spacious enough to accommodate our small group, and a launching point completely free of the madding crowd one would typically contend with during the high season.
The pilot navigated us across the breadth of the entire lake, motoring us almost within a stone’s throw of two major islets, each featuring a portrait of rocky geologic formations and historic or ancient structures perched atop the edges of dramatic cliff faces soaring above the lapping lake water below. Archaeologists have discovered human settlements on these islets extending back to Etruscan times.
After the boat ride, we made our way back to our accommodations for the evening.
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Above and below: Islets in the lake.
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Day 4: An avenue of cave dwellings, a hike along a woodland trail, and a sojourn in scenic Sorano
Traveling toward Sovana, among Italy’s “most beautiful villages,” we entered and traversed a verdant landscape of deep volcanic gorges with narrow plateaus, stopping first to begin our hike along a trail that took us by the numerous cave dwellings of Vitozza. Many of them were inhabited during medieval times, and even before, as domestic dwellings by families. I tried to imagine families of men, women and children living in these cavernous places, warming themselves by their fires during the cold season and using them as shelter from the elements, including the radiant heat of the sun during the warm seasons. Today, of course, they are vacant and silent, but there was still a haunting spirit that seemed to hover invisibly over these spaces.
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Above and below: caves along the trail to Vitozza, the medieval town.
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Alessandro discussing one of the caves with the group.
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Our hike along the cave trail led us eventually to branch off steeply upward to reach an area where once stood a medieval village, featuring the remains of two castles and a church. Traces of domestic structures and other small structures that once stood around on either side of them were long gone with the ravages of time. Though I knew, as we walked through the long grass and across the rich soil of a surface still damp with the previous day’s rain, archaeological remains of their foundations and other associated artifacts likely still lay scattered beneath my feet — waiting to be discovered by some future excavation project. The mystery of it captured my imagination.
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Above and below: remains of the first castle encountered on the walk.
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Remains of the second castle.
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Above and below: the Chiesaccia, or Church of S. Bartolomeo, one of three churches built in Vitozza in the second half of the 13th century,
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We hiked carefully down from here over rocky surfaces still moist from yesterday’s rain to make our way to the Lente River far below us. On the way, we came across a fascinating medieval period columbarium. It is today silent and devoid of birds. But, given its considerable structure, it must have been a very lively and productive facility for the people who lived in the nearby community centuries ago.
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The columbarium of Vitozza, just below and near the second castle remains.
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The Lente River is small. One could hardly think of it as a river. A good-sized creek would be more apt. But the lush, scenic woodland through which it wound and through which we traversed was a remarkable example of an almost fairytale-like forest environment that surrounded us. Stopping for a snack break of drinks and other hand-held tastes at a picnic table above the river was a welcome few moments for good conversation and a chance to put questions to Alessandro about the flora that enveloped us.
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Alessandro leads us down a tufa-cut passage.
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A view: hiking along the Lente.
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Sorano
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this journey for me was seeing the old village of Sorano. The motor coach approach from the end of our woodland river walk afforded a breathtaking view of a dramatic ancient-looking random assemblage of light-brown stone structures that straddled the steep slopes of a massive, craggy tufa spur. It was the kind of view one usually expects from a post card image that you know had to be doctored or photo shopped. But this was real. After enjoying a delicious three-course lunch in a local restaurant, we met with our local expert guide for the town walk. Carlo Rosati was a veritable storehouse of knowledge about Sorano, and he minced no words to convince me that this village was clearly one of Tuscany’s best kept secrets. It is not a well-known, high-demand tourist destination, but after seeing this place, I knew it should be — although to enjoy it, one needs to see it free of the press of any crowds. Words don’t do it justice, so included here are photographic images that illustrate what the written word cannot convey — though one has to see it in person to realize the full effect of the visual experience.
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Above and below: views of old Sorano. Difficult to get enough of the visual historic splendor.
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Peering up at the massive Orsini Fortress of Sorano.
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Interior view of the Orsini Fortress.
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“Sorano is one of the most interesting villages for ‘touching’ the Middle Ages,” says Carlo.
Indeed, the face of this village oozes the Middle Ages at every step, and it is this time period that is best preserved and evident in Sorano. However, more than 2500 years ago Sorano was likely a Villanovan settlement, a culture and people thought to be the first phase of the Etruscan culture, which left its historical traces in Sorano around the 3rd century BC, when the village was under the influence of the larger nearby Etruscan period city of Sovana.
Little is known about Sorano during the Roman period, but it emerges into the written record in 862 under Emperor Louis II, under the Aldobrandeschi suzerainty. Later, under Romano di Gentile Orsini, it became part of the Orsini fiefdom. After which its prominent hilltop fortress, the remains of which can be seen and visited today, was named. The fortress was frequently attacked by competing powers in the region because of its strategic position. Walking through the fortress overwhelmed me with its massive presence, and it was easy to see how the community could withdraw into the interior space of the structure during times of conflict and siege.
The village eventually became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Sorano had a significant jewish community during the Medieval period, and the remains of the structures that constituted its quarter within the village were well preserved, making our walk feel almost like a flashback into a time and space that never really vanished.
We ended the day with a retreat to our luxury accommodations at the resort in Sovana, with evening dining at a distinctive local restaurant, where special dishes gave us a taste of the unique fare it had to offer its guests.
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Day 5: Sovana: The Vie Cava and Cities of the Dead
Embarking early, we joined Carlo on a hike into the world of the Etruscans. This was a journey that relatively few people take, because it was an exploration of a largely unwritten story of ancient engineering. The area in which the towns of Sorano, Sovana,and Pitigliano, all neighboring settlements, is defined to a great extent by curious winding paths or passages known widely as Vie Cave (road and quarry), which were literally cut through the soft tufa stone, creating deep gorge-like trails framed on either side by high walls of the tufa stone. They were originally cut by the Etruscans, or even earlier peoples, and then continued to be cut or defined by later groups of people. Coined as the Hollow Paths by Carlo in his book, The Etruscans and the Hollow Paths*, these paths often mark passageways between and among the ancient rock-hewn burial chambers and tombs of the Etruscans, ancient features that equally define the area in abundance.
Carlo led us through some of these hollow paths, and along-side numerous shallow caves, clearly man-made to function as burial chambers or tombs for their dead, some larger and more elaborate than others, but all empty and silent. And if one listened very closely, one could almost hear the faint whispers of the dead calling us beckoningly from their earthly domiciles as we passed.
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Above and below: rock-cut cave tombs of the Etruscans.
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Our hike on this terrain, in the cool of the morning with the ground still wet and in places slippery from the overnight rain, eventually took us through the dramatic ancient (originally Etruscan) rock-cut tufa paths of the Via Cava de San Sebastiano to one of Sovana’s best-known Etruscan rock-hewn tombs, the Ildebranda Tomb.
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Above and below: the Vie Cava de San Sebastiano.
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Our group leader Alessandro leads the way through. He is pictured here for scale.
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Carlo, our guest historian, leads us down a Vie Cava path.
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Set and carved deeply and ornately into the tufa, it sat high on the face of one of the many rocky spurs that surround Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano, overlooking the verdant craggy landscape beneath it. From our elevated perspective we could see the living town of Sovana in the near distance, despite the misty cloud cover in-between. Heavily eroded over more than 2200 years, the vestiges of this tomb’s original architectural appearance gave visual clues to how elaborate and decorative its facade was in its heyday.
“During this time period, the Etruscans built their tombs with the decorative element on the exterior, while the tomb interiors were plain and simple,” said Carlo. This was in contrast to many other Etruscan tombs of note, such as the famous painted tombs at Tarquinia, which featured elaborate decorative elements and wall paintings/frescoes in their interiors, with much plainer exteriors.
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Above and below: the Ildebranda Tomb.
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We proceeded down ancient steps and entered the tomb interior. Although spacious, it was dark and simple, and one could easily see where the body of the dead once laid within the sarcophagus, now absent, upon a raised section of the tomb interior. The last marks of the pick-axes used by the ancients to carve out the chamber from the tufa could still be seen on the walls and ceiling.
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Article Supplement
Who were the Etruscans?
The Etruscans were an ancient people who inhabited current day central Italy from around 900 BC to roughly 100 BC. They possessed a common language and culture but governed themselves independently through federations of city-states (three confederacies in all: Etruria (today’s Tuscany, Latium and Umbria), the Po Valley with the eastern Alps, and the area known today as Campania. At its greatest extent, Etruria covered what is now Tuscany, western Umbria, northern Lazio, the Po Valley, Emilia-Romagna, south-eastern Lombardy, southern Veneto, and western Campania.
The Etruscans were an indigenous population stemming from the Iron Age Villanovan culture, which developed out of the late Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture, part of the central European Urnfield culture system. The Etruscans dominated the Italian peninsula until the rise of Rome in the late 4th century BC. By 27 BC, the Etruscan territory was incorporated into the Roman Empire.
In the Etruscan political system, authority resided in its individual city-states, ruled by prominent families. In the hey-day of their power, the elite Etruscan families became very wealthy through trade with the Celts to the north and the Greeks to the south. Evidence for this was uncovered through archaeological excavations that uncovered large family tombs with luxury objects imported from Greece and other contemporaneous civilizations.
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Etruscan bronze chariot, circa 6th century BC. As exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rogers Fund, 1903. CCO 1.0 Universal, Wikimedia Commons
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Etruscan helmet. As exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia.
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Etruscan painted tomb, excavated and preserved in Tarquinia, Italy.
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Because the Etruscan script and language remains largely undeciphered and elusive, any accurate written history of the Etruscans is sketchy, and most of what we know about them is derived from archaeological investigations, especially of the many tombs and the artifacts found within them.
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We ascended the steps out of the tomb into the pouring rain. This did not stop us from ascending more to another nearby tomb site, yet another iconic space carved from the tufa stone about 2300 years ago. Known as the Tomb of the Winged Demons, much of its facade has been lost or eroded away with time, but its elaborate decorative character still stands out, with its visual elements at least partially protected under a roof-shroud construction overhead. More evident as compared to the Ildebrand Tomb, this tomb afforded us a fascinating yet mystery-shrouded glimpse into the Etruscan concept of death, the afterlife and their vision of the Underworld. These winged figures, often referred to as ‘demons’ (though not in the conventional sense of demons as defined today) are usually a part of Etruscan funerary art and often associated with the goddess Vanth, a being connected to death and the underworld. Carlo gave us a rich and detailed interpretation of the iconography as it related to the mythology and religion of this ancient people. Unlike what we know about Greek and Roman religion and mythology, however, the Etruscan equivalent still remains comparatively vague.
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Above and below: facade and its associated elements of the Tomb of the Winged Demons.
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The Excavation
The region surrounding Sorano, Sovana and Pitigliano is a land rich in archaeological treasure, excavated and still-to-be excavated. The buried history spans more than 3,000 years, extending as far back as the Neolithic and even before civilization as we conventionally define it — Paleolithic times. But research has focused mostly on the human story here ranging between about 900 BC up to and through Renaissance times. We had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Luca Nejrotti, an archaeologist who has been conducting a field school excavation at the local site of “la Biagiola,” a multi-layered site that recently has yielded evidence of occupation by the Lombards, a germanic people who conquered and controlled most of the Italian peninsula between 568 and 774 AD, as well as evidence of occupation in other time periods. Our plans included visiting the actual excavation site, though rainy weather conditions precluded us from seeing the site. Nonetheless, a very fine little museum in Sovana showcased some of the artifacts recovered from the site, and it was in this location where Nejrotti addressed our group with an extremely informative review of the excavations and the major findings to date.
Day 6: Along the ancient trail, and Pitigliano
By the time we began to hike the trail from Sovana to Pitigliano, we had become accustomed to the surface irregularities and the ascending and descending nature of the paths. As before, the rock-cut passage in places was a reminder of the labor and care the ancients had taken to blaze their travel and connections through the terrain from each point or tomb to another, and from one significant location to another. In places it was like walking through a cavern with no ceiling, the space high above us open to the sky and the ground and walls around us like a work of nature’s sculptor.
We met others along the way — a couple from Germany and an Italian family, the children at nearly a jog along a surface that required good walking sticks for older explorers.
After a delectable three-course lunch with fine Tuscan wines in Pitigliano, Carlo led us on a highly informative walk of this breathtakingly picturesque medieval hilltop town. Originally an Etruscan settlement, it is the largest of the trio of towns in this historic and ancient region. While every inch of street and historic construction captured my imagination, three sites stood prominently out for me. The first was the Duomo di Pitigliano; Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo), a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Saints Peter and Paul. The cathedral exterior facade was impressive enough, until one steps inside, and then it is easy to see why the structure is a must-see when visiting this town. Restored in 1692–1702, its majestic interior space features a 1717 Baroque altar, an altarpiece in the choir depicting the Enthroned Madonna with Saints Peter and Francis (dated to 1494) by Guidoccio Cozzarelli and, painted in 1885, two large paintings by Pietro Aldi — Henry IV at Canossa and the Life of Ildeprando in Sovana. Pitigliano was also home to a flourishing Jewish community, consisting mostly of people fleeing from Rome during the Counterreformation persecutions. It was fascinating to see the rendered caves in which they worked and lived, which includes a ritual Passover matzoh bakery. But the big story about this community was how, because of the newly promulgated racial laws under Nazi influence, the community is said to have escaped capture with the help of Christian neighbors. We had the opportunity to step into the ornately designed 1995-restored synagogue of 1598 (although containing furnishings of the 17th and 18th centuries). I felt a reverence their unlike any other structure I entered during the walk.
Perhaps less known but equally fascinating was a small section of the town that had been preserved to showcase the archaeological excavations and research that had taken place here over the years. Although what we saw in this section represented only a small slice of what likely remained hidden and buried beneath throughout the town, it served as a reminder of the long history of occupation here, going back to at least early Etruscan times.
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Panoramic view of Pitigliano. Shadow Fixing, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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The Duomo di Pitigliano (Pitigliano Cathedral).
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Typical street view in Pitigliano.
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A Unique Journey
When contemplating a getaway to Italy, I admit that my first thoughts revolved around seeing the iconic sites best known in the popular travel literature — places like the Colosseum, Pantheon and the Vatican in Rome, the great Duomo and Renaissance sites and art in Florence, the canals of Venice, the ancient remains of Pompeii, and the majestic lines and ocean views of the Amalfi coast. Without detracting from those incomparable sites, however, I found a more intimate and enriching and deeply satisfying magic in walking the countryside and getting ‘up close and personal’ with the ‘lesser known’ historic dream-like presence of the smaller settlements that define the heart of Italy. Not its magnificence, but its indescribable charm and warm allure that made, at least for me, an experience unlike any other traveling I had ever endeavored. The smaller group of traveling companions created a sense of camaraderie and ‘family’, if you will, that I could never obtain with the larger groups in which I previously traveled. Indeed, exploring this little group of people constantly around me on a daily basis was as much of an adventure as the sites and landscapes we traversed. And the act of bringing a mind-and-body healthy hike or walk to its completion each day along a verdant and historic path afforded a unique sense of endorphin-rich achievement.
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For readers who may be interested in joining a walking tour like this, see the Wayfaring Walks website for more information about the many other walks they offer around the world. Readers who are interested in the subject tour of this article (Etruscan Hilltop Towns) may find more information and a special discount offer for this tour at this page. Whatever walk you may choose, it is no exaggeration to say that I think you will find it to be a trip of a lifetime.
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The Guides
Indispensable to the experience is the educational and daily support elements the guides and special guest-lecturers bring to Wayfaring Walks journeys. On a daily basis, Alessandro Tombelli, our tour leader, and Andrea Formaleoni, our tour manager, brought their expertise to bear on making the Etruscan Hilltop Towns walk a stimulating, smooth, and stress-free experience. Along the way special guest lecturer/leaders like Carlo Rosati (Sorano, Sovana and Pitigliano) and Luca Nejrotti (Sovana) provided detailed, mind-enriching reviews of topics and places that only they could convey.
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Comments from tour participants
“I love the pace of the travel and the size of the group. The walk leader and walk manager are also a key part of Wayfaring travel. They are always adults with life experiences of their own and have a lot to offer. It is a different experience entirely than being led by college kids, which other walking groups often use.”
— Wendy Kersman
“I loved the walks in the beautiful countryside. That’s an absolute requirement for any of the walks I take. But I think the historian and archaeologist who joined us gave a depth and context to the experience that was special and wonderful…..and the staff that accompanies the walks, the care and thoughtfulness taken in designing the walks, and the quality of the accommodations and food.”
— Laura Godown
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*Rosati, Carlo, The Etruscans and the Hollow Paths, Moroni Editor, April 2013.
Cover Image, Top Left: Panoramic view of Pitigliano. Shadow Fixing, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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