Viterbo

The medieval City of the Popes in the Tuscia region, with its intact Papal Palace and San Pellegrino quarter; nearby are hilltop Civita di Bagnoregio, the Park of the Monsters, painted Etruscan tombs and volcanic lakes.

Viterbo lies in northern Lazio, about 80 km from Rome, and is the main town of Tuscia, the land once inhabited by the ancient Etruscans. In the 13th century the popes resided here for long periods, leaving behind the Papal Palace and the story of the first “conclave”. The old town is still enclosed by intact medieval walls, and the San Pellegrino quarter is one of the best-preserved medieval neighbourhoods in Europe. On the western outskirts lies the Bullicame thermal area, home to both the large Terme dei Papi spa and the free open-air Carletti hot pools. Using Viterbo as a base, you can explore the surroundings along several routes: to the north, Civita di Bagnoregio, Lake Bolsena and Montefiascone; to the east, Renaissance gardens and palaces such as Villa Lante, the Park of the Monsters in Bomarzo, Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, plus Lake Vico; to the west, the UNESCO-listed painted Etruscan tombs of Tarquinia, Tuscania and the Vulci Archaeological Park; and to the southeast, Sutri and Calcata. The best times to visit are April–June and September–October; summers are hot but good for swimming in the lakes. On the evening of 3 September each year, the Macchina di Santa Rosa procession (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) sees more than a hundred strong men carry an illuminated tower about 30 m tall through the town — the biggest event of the year. Getting there: regional trains from Rome take about 1.5–2 hours; buses to the surrounding sights are infrequent, so renting a car is strongly recommended. Plan to stay 3–4 days. Note: the Papal Palace and other sights may close at midday, and national museums are mostly closed on Mondays; Orvieto to the north is covered under a separate destination.

Top sights

• Palazzo dei Papi – The 13th-century palace where popes stayed in Viterbo, famous for its Gothic loggia and the hall where the world's first conclave was held…
• San Pellegrino Quarter – One of Europe's best-preserved medieval quarters, with grey volcanic tufa houses, external stone staircases, and arcades, like stepping bac…
• Civita di Bagnoregio – An ancient village perched on a hilltop of eroding tufa, connected to the outside world only by a long pedestrian bridge, and known as the…
• Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo – A grotesque sculpture garden built in the 16th century by the noble Orsini family, with giant rock monsters, a leaning house, and the Mouth…
• Necropolis of Tarquinia (Monterozzi) – A UNESCO World Heritage Site where about 200 of roughly 6,000 Etruscan tombs are painted with murals, and the vivid scenes of banquets, dan…
• Viterbo Cathedral (San Lorenzo) – A Romanesque cathedral beside the Papal Palace, distinguished by its black-and-white striped bell tower, with papal tombs and cosmatesque f…
• Piazza del Plebiscito – Viterbo's civic centre, framed by the town hall and the Palazzo dei Priori, with stone lions on the square as the city's symbol.
• Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Rocca Albornoz – An archaeological museum in the 14th-century castle by the old town's north gate, showing Etruscan pottery, sarcophagi and temple decoratio…
• Terme dei Papi – A large spa centre west of Viterbo whose huge outdoor pool is fed by the Bullicame springs, with the 58°C source water cooled before it ent…
• Piscine Carletti – A free outdoor hot spring in the Bullicame area, run by Viterbo's council, where sulphurous water flows through channels into several shall…
• Basilica di Santa Maria della Quercia – A Renaissance pilgrimage church east of the city, named after its image of the Virgin painted on an oak tree, with glazed terracotta relief…
• Villa Lante – A 16th-century Renaissance terraced garden, renowned for its successive water stairs, fountains and geometric flowerbeds, and one of Italy'…
• Villa Farnese, Caprarola – A pentagonal Renaissance palace designed by Vignola, famous for its spiral staircase and the Room of the World Map frescoes, with terraced…
• Lake Vico – A volcanic crater lake in the Cimini hills, its shores preserving pristine beech forest, and one of the highest large volcanic lakes in Eur…
• Lake Bolsena – One of Europe's largest volcanic crater lakes, with clear water, the islands of Bisentina and Martana, and medieval towns around its shore.
• Bolsena & Basilica of Santa Cristina – A medieval town on the northern shore of Lake Bolsena, with a castle overlooking the lake, and the Basilica of Santa Cristina, site of the…
• Montefiascone – A hilltop town on the southeast shore of Lake Bolsena, where the papal fortress ruins overlook the whole lake and which is the home of the…
• Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia – An Etruscan museum housed in the 15th-century Palazzo Vitelleschi, whose star exhibits are a pair of temple terracotta 'Winged Horses', plu…
• Tuscania – An Etruscan town in western Tuscia, where the Romanesque churches of San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore on the hill outside the walls are…
• Vulci Archaeological Park – The site of Vulci, one of the great Etruscan city-states, where Roman ruins, tombs and the medieval Devil's Bridge spanning a gorge, with i…
• Ferento – A Roman town ruin north of Viterbo, where the 1st-century Roman theatre remains well preserved and still hosts plays in summer.
• Roman Amphitheatre of Sutri – A Roman amphitheatre carved entirely out of a tufa cliff, with Etruscan rock-cut tombs in the cliff face alongside, beside the ancient Via…
• Calcata – A small village built on an isolated tufa cliff, nearly abandoned at one point and later repopulated by artists and hippies, now full of st…

Where to eat

• Trattoria L'Archetto – A traditional trattoria under a medieval archway near Via Saffi, serving an authentic bread and vegetable soup at frien…
• Trattoria Magnamagna – A young-spirited trattoria on Piazza della Morte serving lightly updated Lazio classics; Gambero Rosso praises it as a…
• Osteria del Vecchio Orologio – A traditional osteria on Via Orologio Vecchio known for offal, slow-cooked dishes and soups, with a wine list limited t…
• Schenardino – A new-wave restaurant on Piazza delle Erbe run by former Michelin-starred chef Danilo Ciavattini, using zero-kilometre…
• Il Gargolo – A small trattoria by the fountain on Piazza della Morte, with lively outdoor seating, generous portions and plenty of s…

Itineraries

• Tuscany to Rome Hill Towns Road Trip – A scenic drive from Florence through Chianti, Siena, Val d'Orcia, and Civita di Bagnoregio to Rome.
• Rome, Pompeii and the City in the Sky in – Based in Rome, with three day trips to Pompeii, Orvieto and Bagnoregio, the 'City in the Sky,' and Ostia Antica.
• Tuscia Etruscan Tombs & Lakes Weekend – A road trip from Rome to see Etruscan tombs, Civita di Bagnoregio, Lake Bolsena, and the Park of the Monsters.