Sovana Italy
Sovany Tuscany

4 towns – one day tour if your time is limited - otherwise you can easily make two different tours -
better avoiding weekends

Sovana Italy - Tuscany Maremma - Tuscia

Sovana has been elected one of the most beautiful medieval towns of Italy –you will understand it once you get there. In fact, already the location itself is charming, when – coming from the East – you see the remainders of the Aldobrandeschi fortress raise to your eyes. The outstanding importance of this miniature town, nowadays looking like an open air museum, had during the Etruscan period and the medieval cannot be understood at first glance. The wide Piazza del Pretorio as well as the houses and churches have undergone very nice restoration over the last years; rich flowers and plants make a charming contrast with the old lime stone walls and make a walk through the town a real enjoyment. One should not forget to pay a visit to the Roman church St. Maria and see the early roman stile marble altar baldachin (8 th through 9 th century, attributed to Langobarden skill).
Old craft is done here and the products are for sale. You can watch weaving using old patterns; the slowness of its growing gives you an idea about its preciousness.

Major attractions of Sovana are the Etruscan graves dug into the lime stone all around. The atmosphere of these hidden places is unique, all surrounded by splendid vegetation and deep gorges. A few kilometres from Sovana are the rock graves (necropolis) with the most renowned grave, the “Tomba Ildbranda”*. It imitates a temple; in former times it has been covered with stucco and decorated most colourful. Originally there were 12 columns, one of which still in tact, the others are degraded to stumps. Not far away you will meet another phenomenon: the most impressive narrow passes (cavone) like for example “Poggio Priscia”, cut deeply into the mountain by the Etruscans.

* Of course this is not an Etruscan name; it reminds Bishop Hildebrandt, the later pope Gregor VII, who was born in Sovana and who forced the German Emperor Heinrich IV into the most humiliating move to Canossa, making him “eat humble pie".