Page 470 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

468  ROME AND LAZIO

2 Viterbo
* 63,000. V @ n Via Ascenzi 1
(0761 32 59 92). ( Sat.
∑ visit.viterbo.it
Viterbo was an important
Etruscan centre before falling to
the Romans in the 4th century
BC. Its heyday, however, came in
the 13th century, when it briefly
became the papal seat (1257–
81). It was devastated in World
War II, but the austere grey-
stone medieval core and many
Carved loggia of the Palazzo Papale, Viterbo of the town’s churches, have
been carefully restored.
1 Tuscania arcades and a bold rose In San Pellegrino, Viterbo’s
window. Over the central door oldest and best-preserved
Viterbo. * 8,200. @ n Piazzale
Trieste (0761 445 42 59). ( Fri am. lies a simple marble Madonna quarter, medieval houses with
and Child, framed by abstract towers, arches and external
Tuscania’s trim walls and towers motifs and biblical scenes. staircases line narrow streets
are visible from afar on the Inside, a rare 12th-century full- running between little piazzas
empty low-lying plains between immersion baptism font stands decorated with fountains.
Viterbo and Tarquinia. in the aisle. The Lombard- On Piazza San Lorenzo the
Although shaken by an Romanesque church of 12th-century Duomo boasts an
earthquake in 1971, San Pietro, on top of the elegant black-and-white-striped
its medieval and hill, is a striking building bell tower, a solemn 16th-century
Renaissance of ochre-hued tufa façade and a stark Romanesque
buildings have since and white marble interior. The adjacent 13th-century
been carefully re - details. It stands on a Palazzo Papale, with a finely
constructed. Just grassy piazza, along carved loggia, was built for
outside the city with two medieval popes on their visits to the city.
walls, on the rocky towers and a The town’s civic buildings
Colle San Pietro, bishop’s palace. The border the main square,
two remarkable façade features an Piazza del Plebiscito. The most
churches dating Façade of San Pietro, Tuscania intric ately inlaid rose interesting is the 15th-century
from the Lombard- window flanked by Palazzo dei Priori, frescoed
Romanesque period occupy strange reliefs, including three- inside by Baldassare Croce with
the site of Tuscana, a major headed bearded demons. The scenes from the town’s history
Etruscan centre conquered by interior is true to its 8th-century and mythological past.
Rome in 300 BC. form, with squat columns, Outside the city walls, on
Santa Maria Maggiore, at the toothed arches, capitals carved Viale Capocci, the Romanesque
foot of the hill, has a typically with stylized plants and a Santa Maria della Verità has
Lombard-Romanesque Cosmati floor. Below the church wonderful 15th-century
asymmetric façade with blind lies a strange mosque-like crypt. frescoes by Lorenzo da Viterbo.

Villa Lante’s small but splendid Renaissance gardens, considered Vignola’s masterpiece
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp573–6 and pp596–600

468-469_EW_Italy.indd 468 4/4/17 5:36 PM