Vulci, Tarquinia and Tuscania

We reluctantly leave the Maremma for the second part of our holiday, the Tuscia. First stop Vulci ( ), an ancient Etruscan city, built on a limestone platform along the right bank of the river Fiora. Located in the Lazio Maremma, Vulci was undoubtedly one of the largest city-states of Etruria; we can still admire the remains of roads, temples and dwellings, as well as important tombs such as the François tomb and that of the inscriptions. The archaeological park is very vast; we opted for the shorter route (about 2 hours) which nonetheless sums up all that is important to see. Our itinerary included a first part called archaeological, with the visit of the ancient city; we were very struck by the paved roads, the remains of the temple but above all the Mithraeum of which we had heard on a well-known television programme.

The second part, called naturalistic, took us as far as the little lake of the Pellicole, truly very special and scenic. We were not able to visit the François tomb instead because it is not always open. At the entrance to the park there is a beautiful castle that has become the seat of the archaeological museum, where you can admire some beautiful vases and the entire funerary goods of the Tomba della Panatenaica. In front of the castle is the Devil's Bridge built by the Romans and which divides the territories of Canino and Montaldo di Castro. We set off again from Vulci towards Tuscania, where we had booked a room at the hostel of Palazzo Ranucci. We arrive in the early afternoon and, since the hostel opens at 5 pm, we decide to visit the city.

Naturally our first visit is to the 2 churches that are a bit the symbol of Tuscania, namely the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and that of San Pietro in Tuscania; they are truly remarkable, we were really impressed and alone they are worth the journey here. Once the visit was over we took a nice tour of the archaeological museum housed in the former convent of S. Maria del Riposo just outside the walls of Tuscania, which has a rich collection of sarcophagi, many of which belonged to the same family, that of the Corunas; we were not able, however, to visit the grotta della Regina because of the rain.

But it has got late and we are tired, the day has been intense and we can't wait to rest; we therefore head for Palazzo Ranucci, which is in the historic centre, in other words inside the walls. Our impression was very positive; the palazzo is very old and distinctive, the room they gave us was large and comfortable with a nice little bed for the child, bathroom and TV in the room and the possibility of dining in the partner restaurant right inside the palazzo with an extra charge of 15 euros per person (first course, second course and drinks included), all for 47 euros a night!!!! After resting we decide to take a nice tour of the historic centre, which is one of the most beautiful in Lazio. Back at the hotel a pleasant surprise: the stairs of Palazzo Ranucci were all lit with candles that the restaurant lights for its customers and so we benefited too.

The next morning, after an abundant breakfast at the bar of the Duomo, we set off again, this time towards Tarquinia, another pleasant surprise for us. In Tarquinia you can visit the painted tombs; there are some very beautiful ones such as that of the Leopards or of the jugglers. Matteo had great fun coming down with us and turning on all the lights to illuminate the tombs. Entry here too was free (see the culture week) as was the archaeological museum, which is truly beautiful, as is the palazzo that houses it, Palazzo Vitelleschi. Here our holiday ends reluctantly; we left many things behind such as Caprarola, Bagnaia, Bomarzo and Viterbo so we promised ourselves to return as soon as possible.