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 masterpieces of Italian Romanesque architecture.
Tuscania lies about 25 km west of Viterbo. Its walled old town is quiet and tidy and houses the Etruscan National Museum, which displays many sarcophagi unearthed locally. On the San Pietro hill outside the walls to the southeast, the 11th–12th century Church of San Pietro has a striking facade with a rose window and cosmatesque decoration, and old frescoes survive inside. Below the hill, the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore is another Romanesque masterpiece. The town has been a filming location for directors such as Pasolini and Zeffirelli. It is quiet with few visitors and makes an ideal half-day drive.
Opening hours
Open all day; church around 10:00–13:00, 14:30–18:00
Nearby sights
- Lake Bolsena
- Piscine Carletti
- Terme dei Papi
- Necropolis of Tarquinia (Monterozzi)
- Montefiascone
- Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia
- Viterbo Cathedral (San Lorenzo)
- Palazzo dei Papi