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ViterboViterbo, ancient seat of the papacy, retains the charm of the classic medieval town with beautiful old churches and wonderful papal center. The city of Viterbo lies up to a 350 metres high altitude, where the northern slope of Mounts Cimini descends gradually to a large plain and westwards to the sea, then goes up to the Mounts Volsinii and eastwards to the Mounts of Sabina, just over the Tiber Valley. All the area around Viterbo – once Etruscan southern centre and called Tuscia – is strewn with Roman and Etruscan findings, like necropolis, streets, bridges and ancient thermal spas (Aquae Passeris); theatres (Sutri, Ferento); villas (Calvisiana, Varroniana)... Indelible signs of a glorious past are visible everywhere in towns like Tarquinia, Vulci, Cerveteri, Veio, Faleri, Sutri, Norchia, Musarna, Castel d'Asso and Ferento: close by Viterbo, where every single excavation brings back to life ancient ruins and treasures. We cannot fix a precise date about the foundation of the city, but the Duomo's hill (which was the first nucleus) still preserves evident traces of the Etruscan bridge and original acropolis, as well as a Roman "Castrum" with a temple built in honour of Hercules. The temple later became village of Desiderio, king of the Lombards, and turned into a Christina church dedicated to St Lawrence. The whole territory was, from very ancient times, scattered with Etruscan alleys and Roman districts: small groups of farmhouses all around some fortalices, which were transformed, during the Middle Ages, into fortified castles, unfortunately destroyed because of the continuous contests. Old memories date back to the X and XI century, when there were built the main churches, giving the name to the current city quarters. The union among quarters and Duomo's hill happened during the XII century. It was born a new commune that, under the rule of Frederick I Barbarossa, adorned itself with the official coat of arms (the lion) surmounted by an imperial eagle. During the XIII century, Viterbo dominated over a large territory, from the Lake Bolsena to the Lake Vico, from the sea of Montalto to the Tiber Valley. Except for the twenty-years period 1264-1282, when it housed the papacy, Viterbo was always in war. That was the heroic era, at least until 1266 (when King Manfredi dead), when Viterbo was able to rescue and increase its freedom inflicting a memorable defeat to Frederick II. It reached a unique splendour and prosperity, unfortunately never reached again. In 1305 the Papal Court moved to Avignone and that splendour gradually eclipsed behind the overbearingness of Roman barons. However Viterbo remained the economic centre of the vast region including the area from the Maremma to the Mounts Cimini. Without the Popes, the city fell into the hands of the Di Vicos. In the XIV century, Giovanni Di Vico had created a seigniory extending to Civitavecchia, Tarquinia, Bolsena, Orvieto, Todi, Narni and Amelia. His dominion was crushed by Cardinal Gil de Albornoz in 1354, sent by the Avignonese popes to recover the Papal States, who built the Castle. In 1375 the city gave its keys to Francesco Di Vico, son of the previous tyrant, but thirteen years later the people killed him and assigned the city first to Pope Urban VI, and then to Giovanni di Sciarra di Vico, Francesco's cousin. But Pope Boniface IX's troops drove him away in 1396 and established a firm Papal suzerainty over the city. The last Di Vico to hold power in Viterbo was Giacomo, who was defeated in 1431. Thenceforth Viterbo became a city of secondary importance, following the vicissitudes of the Papal States and becoming part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1871. Some noteworthy monuments...
Local events...
Other towns in the area: Anguillara Sabazia, Bassano Romano, Bolsena, Bomarzo, Bracciano, Calcata, Capranica, Caprarola, Castel Gandolfo, Castiglione in Teverina, Civita Castellana, Civita di Bagnoregio, Bagnoregio, Collevecchio, Fiuggi, Frascati, Genzano di Roma, Guidonia Montecelio, Magliano Sabina, Montefiascone, Nazzano, Onano, Ostia Antica, Ponza, Rome, Ronciglione, San Felice Circeo, San Polo dei Cavalieri, San Polo di Tarano, Soriano nel Cimino, Tarano, Tarquinia, Tivoli, Trevignano Romano, Tuscania, Vetralla, Vitorchiano, ZagaroloYou might also be interested in reading about the following Viterbo topics:
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