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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

In and About Viterbo Tuscania: the town

Italy is also called the country of the thousand towns, with reference to the high number of Italian towns having a historical and artistic interest. This is particularly true in central and northern Italy where in the XIth century the lack of a centralized power favoured the development of self governed structures at town level.
These town states were so successful that in certain circumstances they were able to fight against the German emperor or the pope who both claimed to have sovereign rights over them. They built large churches and town halls as a symbol of their wealth and independence.
Some of these towns gradually became regional powers (Florence, Milan, Venice) at the expense of the others and Renaissance and Baroque monuments replaced or modified most of their medieval buildings.
In northern Latium the independence of these towns came to an end in the XIVth century when Cardinal Gil Alvarez d'Albornoz subdued them and restored the authority of the pope over the Patrimonium Petri, as what is today the province of Viterbo was called for centuries, with reference to the fact that the papal state (St. Peter's patrimony) had its origin there.
Tuscania was conquered by Cardinal Albornoz in 1354 and time seems to have come to a standstill at this point.

View of Tuscania from S. Pietro
View of Tuscania from S. Pietro

In 1348-49 a bubonic plague (The Black Death) almost halved the population of Europe. In Tuscania its impact was so heavy that the oldest part of the town where the main medieval churches (S. Pietro and S. Maria Maggiore) were located was abandoned.
A sensible town planning has addressed the expansion of modern Tuscania towards an area behind its western walls, preserving the very medieval view of the town from its old center.


Towers of the walls, Porta S. Marco, Torre del Lavello and bell tower of S. Silvestro
Towers of the walls, Porta S. Marco, Torre del Lavello and bell tower of S. Silvestro

Tuscania retains most of its medieval walls and some towers protecting the palaces of the most important families. Even some of the bell towers have the appearance of a military building.
Torre del Lavello protected the palace of the Lavello family who in the early XVth century vainly attempted to lessen papal authority.

Views of medieval Tuscania: in the foreground an Etruscan sarcophagus
Views of medieval Tuscania: in the foreground the cover of an Etruscan sarcophagus

Tuscania was an Etruscan town of some importance and many tombs have been found in its neighbourhood. The rich were buried in sarcophagi covered by a statue where they were portrayed as if they were attending a banquet (which was part of the funerary ceremonies).

Renaissance house and coats of arms of the Farnese
Renaissance house and coats of arms of the Farnese

Tuscania was located very close to the Duchy of Castro, a small state run by the Farnese family for more than a century. Their coats of arms on the very few Renaissance buildings of Tuscania show that they had a great influence on the town.

S. Maria della Rosa
S. Maria della Rosa

The XIVth century church of S. Maria della Rosa has several points in common with churches of Corneto (Tarquinia). The horizontal design of the façade is typical of the architecture of the Abruzzi region, and it is relatively unusual in Latium.

S. Maria del Riposo
S. Maria del Riposo

Tuscania is located in a region which has a high seismic risk and the Renaissance church of S. Maria del Riposo was protected against the effects of earthquakes by additional walls. The monastery next to it has a very large cloister and it now hosts the archaeological museum of Tuscania.

Cathedral and main fountain
Cathedral and main fountain

The Cathedral was almost entirely redesigned in the XVIIIth century, but it retains its XVIth century façade built by Cardinal Gambara, the founder of Villa di Bagnaia. The fountain is thought to be a work by il Vignola, who worked for Cardinal Gambara in Bagnaia.

Go to page two to see the finest churches of Tuscania.


In and about Viterbo - other pages:
Viterbo
Bagnaia
Bagnoregio
Bomarzo
Orte and Vasanello
S. Maria della Querce
S. Martino al Cimino
Vitorchiano

Pages on towns of Latium other than Rome In the Duchy of Castro: Farnese, Ischia di Castro, Valentano, Gradoli, Capodimonte, Marta In Maremma: Corneto (Tarquinia), Montalto, Canino A Pilgrim's Way: Via Francigena: Acquapendente, Bolsena, Montefiascone In and about Viterbo: Viterbo, Bagnoregio, S. Martino al Cimino, Tuscania, Bomarzo, S. Maria della Querce, Bagnaia, Orte, Vasanello, Vitorchiano From Civitavecchia to Civita Castellana: Civitavecchia, Tolfa, Allumiere, Oriolo Romano, Capranica, Sutri, Bassano, Monterosi, Nepi, Castel d'Elia, Civita Castellana From Bracciano to Viterbo: Manziana, Canale Monterano, Vejano, Barbarano, Blera, Vetralla Around Monte Cimino: Ronciglione, Caprarola, Carbognano, Fabrica, Corchiano, Vignanello, Vallerano, Soriano The Bracciano Lake: Bracciano, Trevignano, Anguillara At the foot of Monte Soratte: S. Oreste, Rignano, Faleria Land of the Romans' wives: Montopoli, Poggio Mirteto, Casperia, Cantalupo, Roccantica Sentinels on the Highway: Fiano Romano, Civitella S. Paolo, Nazzano, Torrita Tiberina, Filacciano, Ponzano Along Via Aurelia: Palidoro, Palo, S. Severa and S. Marinella A Walk to Malborghetto: Prima Porta, Malborghetto Branching off Via Cassia: S. Maria di Galeria, Formello, Isola Farnese To Nomentum and beyond: Mentana, Monterotondo, Palombara A Walk to Ponte di Nona: ancient monuments along Via Prenestina Via Appia Antica A short and delicious digression: Tivoli, Montecompatri, Monte Porzio Catone, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Marino, Castelgandolfo, Albano, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora, Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio), Porto, Ostia Where the painters found their models: Anticoli Corrado, Castelmadama, Vicovaro, Arsoli Subiaco The Roman Campagna: Palestrina, Genazzano, Paliano, Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino, Alatri The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone, Colonna, Segni, Norma, Cori On the Latin Shores: Anzio, Nettuno, Torre Astura On the edge of the marsh: Sermoneta, Sezze, Priverno Circe's Cape: S. Felice, Terracina Veroli Branching off Via Flaminia: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo, Leprignano (Capena)

Latium was enlarged in the 1920s with territories from the neighbouring regions: the map on the left shows the current borders of Latium; the map on the right has links to pages covering towns of historical Latium: in order to see them you must hover and click on the dots.