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Affreschi – Exploring Etruria

By Mary Jane Cryan & Norman Roberson.  42 travel essays about the northern Lazio area

Introducing Etruria  by Mary Jane Cryan

 Northern Lazio with the discreet fascination of Etruria, is finally emerging from the shadows cast by its impressive neighbors, Rome and Tuscany. Prestigious American schools and universities have chosen Viterbo as the site for their Italian programs thanks to its geographic position, climate and quality of life.
Visitors will find many towns that embody the genuine Italy as they explore the area beyond Rome and before Tuscany. The ancient city of Sutri, 50 kilometers north of Rome, was an important place on the pilgrims’ road, the Via Franchigena. In the newly restored Museo del Patrimonium 8th and 9th century Romanesque and Carolingian sculptures, Roman, Paleochristian and medieval inscriptions and a frescoed portrait of Pope Innocent III taken from a rock-carved church, prove the area’s long and intricate history.
According to legend the town’s name derives from its mythic founder, the god Saturn and tradition says it was the birthplace of Paladino Orlando. The amphitheatre, mithreum, Fortebraccio tower and countless caves carved into the tufa rock are fascinating to see by night when the monuments are illuminated with soft yellow lights. Gourmand visitors overrun Sutri for the annual fagioli or bean festival in September.  A few kilometres and a few curves more bring to Capranica, with its typical bell and clock tower, narrow streets and beautiful churches where some frescoes were recently attributed to young Michelangelo.
Just beyond the giant pines of a nursery (km 60) there is a true crossroads of history with yellow tourist signals pointing the way to Etruscan and medieval sites, a pair of natural parks, Barbarano Romano, Blera and other walled medieval centers. More signs of the legendary Paladino Orlando are the so-called Towers of Orlando hidden in the nut groves where the ancient consular road once passed. Now only romantic ruins, two of these towers were Roman mausoleums of Vicus Matrinus and the other is the apse of the 12th century church of S. Maria in Campis.

Continuing along the Via Cassia there is another decision to make at Cura di Vetralla: turning left brings to Blera and its Etruscan sites. Turning right leads to Monte Fogliano where the Convent of Sant’Angelo is dedicated to the Archangel Michael. Here each May 8th a unique feast, The Wedding of the Trees, Sposalizio dell’Albero, has been celebrated for over 600 years and sees the town’s mayor “marrying” two enormous trees.
San Francesco church in Vetralla (km 68) has the most complete Franciscan fresco cycle outside Assisi as well as a crypt dating from the 7th century. Also notable are the two dolphin fountains in the main square and a rare two-sided panel painting of a Byzantine Madonna in the Duomo.
Walks outside the town bring to the ruins of Forum Cassii, the necropolis at Norchia and the mysterious Etruscan site of Grotta Porcina. The exact location of hot thermal pools used since Etruscan and Roman times is one of this area’s well-kept secrets.
The skyline of Montefiascone at the 98th km. of the Via Cassia is dominated by the cupola of S. Margherita, Italy’s third largest dome. Famous for its white Est! Est!! Est!!! wine, the town is perched on the rim of a former volcano, now the dazzling blue lake of Bolsena.
San Martino al Cimino spreads along another hillside with views reaching all the way to the sea and Tuscany. Guests here can visit the huge Cistercian abbey-church, Palazzo Doria Pamphili and row houses built in an ellipse, the first example of town planning done to satisfy the domineering sister-in-law of a pope, Donna Olympia Maidalchini.
Above Viterbo on the slopes of another dormant volcano, the Palanzana, is Donna Olympia’s delightful frescoed hunting lodge or casino, now being restored by Italian art critic Vittorio Sgarbi.
There are many other hidden villas and other tales to tell about the Etruria or Tuscia area.
At Villa Balestra, former summer home of Viterbo’s bishops, Henry Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, enjoyed a long holiday in 1776. His diaries hold vivid descriptions of the walks, visits and the gargantuan meals enjoyed in the dining room where scenes of nearby towns cover the frescoed walls.