Our tour through the picturesque town begins from the top of the abandoned hill of the Civita, dominated by the majestic basilica of S. Pietro with its two 8 th /9 th -century towers. A work of outstanding value, the church is one of the most impressive examples of early Romanesque style, resulting from a blend of Tuscan, Umbrian and Abruzzi influences that make it truly unique. The elegant façade, whose white marble decorations stand out against the tuff of the massive side-walls, features a marvellous rose window surrounded by a complex set of icons a mirror of the mediaeval mentality that favoured images as the prime means of communication. Simple and solemn, the interior features a nave and two aisles separated by original serrated lintel arches and bare columns embellished with precious capitals. The impressive crypt below the presbytery is upheld by twenty-eight small columns.
At the foot of the hill is the other Romanesque jewel: the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, built at the same time as the basilica of S. Pietro and inspired by the latter’s project, but featuring more decorations and paintings within.
Old town centre: to stroll through Tuscania is to relive the atmosphere of the old villages of Tuscia, where the warm colours of the palazzi and mediaeval towers, of the baroque churches and fountains, merge in harmony with the surrounding landscape. You will feast your eyes on enchanting views, such as Piazza del Comune, surrounded by the lids of Etruscan sarcophagi and looking over the age-old Sette Cannelle spring, the Palazzo Baronale and a stretch of the town walls; such as Via dei Priori, where you can admire the local craftsmen engaged in their traditional handiwork; or the Via degli Archi that leads to a breath-taking viewpoint dominating the ochre tiles of the roofs down below. But it is at sunset, from the Tor di Lavello park, that the magic strikes: prepare to be spellbound at the sight of the superb view of the old ruins of the town walls, of the Rivellino and of the basilica of S. Pietro, standing out against the marvellous green glen of the Marta.
The necropolis of Montarozzi is a crucial record of the Etruscan civilisation. The many painted tombs are a priceless testimony of ancient pictorial art (6 th -2 nd century B.C.) and of the daily life of this mysterious people. A people that relives in the coloured scenes depicted along the necropolis’s walls. A chronological tour of the most significant among the over 6000 burial sites found in the area shows us the development of pictorial art and how their approach to the afterlife changed over time.
Tarquinia’s National Museum . Located within the marvellous Palazzo Vitelleschi, in the old town centre, the National Museum is arranged on three floors and includes outstanding evidence of the Villanovan, orientalising, Ionic-Etruscan, late-Etruscan and late-Roman periods. Particularly worthy of notice are the collections of nenfro (a variety of tuff) and limestone sarcophagi, the exceptional Attic pottery artefacts and, most of all, the famous winged horses from the temple on the old acropolis.
