Visit Tuscania
Tuscania (previously known as Tuscanella) is a small traditional Italian town situated in northern central Lazio region.
A visit to Tuscania will usually start from Saint Peter's Church, located on the hill which was the ancient seat of the Etruscan acropolis. The front of the church overlooks a grassy area between the Palace of Canons and the mighty defensive towers, while the high apse faces towards the nearby town. The façade, most prominent in the central part, includes a portal, a rose window surrounded by a multitude of decorative elements, and side entrances. The main entrance is recessed in the wall and is the work of a Roman marble worker from the Lombard school. The interior of the church is divided into three naves; the central one, in which you can see a floor inlaid with some Cosmatesque geometric decorations, indicates the location of the earliest building - it is separated from the others by a low wall, where some seats are made of stone. The crypt has nine aisles, and it consists of twenty-eight columns, constructed with the remains of Roman and early-medieval buildings.
The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore is situated on the hills of San Pietro, on the summit of which is the Basilica. The church is mentioned for the first time in 852, in a bull of Pope Leo IV (pope from 847 and 855) to the bishop of Tuscania, Urban, and it was consecrated in the early 13th century. On the front there are three finely decorated portals. The central, in white marble, is splayed and flanked by two columns. It has two lions topped by a bezel with four double arches and columns with different capitals. In the jambs the figures of the apostles Peter and Paul are carved. Inside, the church has a basilica plan with a trussed roof, divided into three naves. The apse is covered by a 13th century fresco, by the Roman school, that depicts the Twelve Apostles. In the presbytery, in the apse arch, is a large 14th century fresco of the Last Judgment.
In the Renaissance style former convent of Santa Maria del Riposo is the Archaeological Museum. In the four rooms on the ground floor are the tomb furnishings of the Etruscan families "Curunas" and “Vipinanas”. Upstairs there are three rooms: first with pedestals with some figures of animals, found at the tomb with Portico, the second with three clay covers of the late third century BC; the third with the burial from the necropolis of the so-called “Altar Tuff”.
Around the town of Tuscania there are several Etruscan necropolis of different sizes and ages, but the most famous is the Madonna of Olive", a short distance from the city center, which is based on three steps with funerary monuments dating, for the most part, to the Hellenistic age. Among these note especially the so-called "Grotto of the Queen", characterized by a thick series of mazes, with thirty tunnels.
Tuscania Cuisine
The gastronomy of Tuscania strives to recall the Etruscan heritage of the city. Among the first courses, try the "lombrichelli", a typical long pasta and flavored mostly with tomato sauce or garlic and oil; numerous vegetable soups, creamy and aromatic, and the famous "acquacotta", a dish of ancient rural origins. The main courses include the "peasant panzanella (bread with ripe tomatoes and oregano), cress or “pisciallètti”, beans, bread and fennel (the so-called “facjòle co le fette”), mushrooms "Ferlenghi", pizza with “sfrizzoli”. All meats are excellent, especially grilled or baked, such as the pork or lamb. Among the high quality products, we recommend olive oil and dairy production. Among the desserts, finally, try the "tozzetti", typical biscuits, "Birolli", "Torciglione" of Tuscania, the "diomeneguardi" and the characteristic "macaroni with walnuts." Among the wines we mention the glorious and ancient "Est-Est" of Montefiascone and the “Aleatico” of Gradoli.
See also history of Tuscania