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Tours
the excurtions...all those you have to do ab-so-lu-te-ly!!!!
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BOLSENA - This town gives its name to the close lake and it is sited on one side of the Volsinii Hills.
Bolsena has Etruscan origins and it preserves every further historical age trace. Its castle dominates
the surrounding boroughs from the top and it was recently restored; today it hosts an interesting Lake
Territorial museum. Bolsena lake has been declared the cleanest lake in Europe.
Its basin and its endowed lakefront allow the tourists to spend cultural and joyful holidays.
Starting from Bolsena and wandering through the panoramic street around the lake, you can come
across many colourful towns: Montefiascone, with its stunning lake panorama, Marta, a fishermen’s
town, Capodimonte, Valentano, Gradoli, Grotte di Castro, a beautiful medieval borough and San
Lorenzo Nuovo, a perfect example of 18th century urbanistic settlement (a rare eight sided square
is the town center).
Distances > Roma (148 km - 91 miles), Terni (93 km - 57 miles), Orvieto
(22 km - 13,6 miles), Viterbo (30 km - 18,6 miles), Bomarzo (45 km - 27,9 miles)
BOLSENA - This town gives its name to the close lake and it is sited on one side of the Volsinii Hills.
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Bolsena has Etruscan origins and it preserves every further historical age trace. Its castle dominates the surrounding boroughs from
the top and it was recently restored; today it hosts an interesting Lake Territorial museum. Bolsena lake has been declared the cleanest lake in Europe.
Its basin and its endowed lakefront allow the tourists to spend cultural and joyful holidays.
Starting from Bolsena and wandering through the panoramic street around the lake, you can come
across many colourful towns: Montefiascone, with its stunning lake panorama, Marta, a fishermen’s
town, Capodimonte, Valentano, Gradoli, Grotte di Castro, a beautiful medieval borough and San
Lorenzo Nuovo, a perfect example of 18th century urbanistic settlement (a rare eight sided square
is the town center).
Distances > Roma (148 km - 91 miles), Terni (93 km - 57 miles), Orvieto
(22 km - 13,6 miles), Viterbo (30 km - 18,6 miles), Bomarzo (45 km - 27,9 miles)
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BOLSENA -This town give its name to the close lake and it is sited on one side of the VolsiniiHills.
Bolsena has Etruscan origins and it preserves every further historical age trace. Its castle dominates
the surrounding boroughs from the top and it was recently restored; today it hosts an interesting Lake
Territorial museum. Bolsena lake has been declared the cleanest lake in Europe.
Its basin and its endowed lakefront allow the tourists to spend cultural and joyful holidays.
Starting from Bolsena and wandering through the panoramic street around the lake, you can come
across many colourful towns: Montefiascone, with its stunning lake panorama, Marta, a fishermen’s
town, Capodimonte, Valentano, Gradoli, Grotte di Castro, a beautiful medieval borough and San
Lorenzo Nuovo, a perfect example of 18th century urbanistic settlement (a rare eight sided square
is the town center).
Distances > Roma (148 km - 91 miles), Terni (93 km - 57 miles), Orvieto
(22 km - 13,6 miles), Viterbo (30 km - 18,6 miles), Bomarzo (45 km - 27,9 miles)
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CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO - Civita di Bagnoregio is a perfect example of unique masterpiece.
This small rock is connected to the land just by a long and narrow bridge. Civita is also called
the “Dying Town”, because its sides has been falling down for years and years. Because of
this inexorable deterioration, there are only few people living in the medieval buildings of Civita
downtown. Around the rock the landscape is wide and impressive, giving the tourist a charming
and unforgettable scenario. An excursion in this magic borough is strongly suggested.
Distances > Orvieto (15 km - 9,3 miles), Bolsena (11 km - 6,5 miles).
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GOLE DEL FORELLO, Tiber Fluvial Park, Corbara Lake - They are part of the Tiber Fluvial Park,
which is mainly represented by Corbara Lake. They are picturesque cliffs that take the old river
straight to Rome, by making a real canyon. The whole canyon is full of underground caves,
that can be safely visited anytime of the year. Through these rocks, several prehistoric discoveries
were found during the past years. In this Tiber area, many handcrafts were also made by the Romans.
For this reason, an ancient Roman kiln can be visited nearby.
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ORVIETO - The famous rock of Orvieto is just the basis of a city where everything is about art and
history. Ages come across the city starting from the Etruscan civilization, through the Middle Age,
until today. Since then, time has not been able to damage the wild beauty of the red tufa plateau
(which Orvieto is made of) but it testifies about a supreme art. Putting together the famous Duomo,
the Saint Patrick well, the Moro’s clocktower and many other artistic treasures, you easily get a
unique glance over the Orvieto masterpiece.
In the Orvieto surroundings, in any of its areas, both Tuscany and Latium directions, you can reach
many historical attractions, as the Etruscan Necropolis at Crocifisso del Tufo, the Roman ruins over
the Tiber (Pagliano’s roman harbour) and Giulio’s bridge (roman architecture near Paglia river).
Distances > Roma (110 km - 68 miles), Firenze (149 km - 92 miles), Perugia (66 km - 41 miles),
Terni (75 km - 46,5 miles), Siena (120 km - 74 miles) Assisi (70 km - 43 miles), Todi (30 km - 18,6 miles),
Bolsena (20 km - 12 miles), Viterbo (45 km - 27,9 miles).
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TODI - The town is world wide famous mainly for the kind of stone which is made of and also because
the poet Iacopone da Todi was born there. Visiting Todi also gives you the chance to taste its typical
food and products. Very nice is the historical downtown starting from the Santuario della Consolazione
through the San Donato church until the great Piazza del Popolo.
A visit to this town is of the greatest interest for the beauty of its monuments and its medieval centre.
The nature surrounding the historic downtown is rich, full of great landscapes and panoramic view.
In ten minutes from Todi you can easily reach the Tevere river park and Corbara lake.
Distances > Orvieto (30 km - 18,6 miles), Assisi (55 km - 34 miles), Perugia (50 km - 31 miles),
Terni ( 40 km - 24,8 miles), Spoleto (42 km - 25 miles), Gubbio (80 km - 50 miles), Roma
(139 km - 86 miles), Firenze (197 km - 122 miles).
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Spa in central Italy
Saturnia’s natural Spa and Falls - A traditional lore narrates that God Nettuno created this natural springs
tossing a thunderbird against a mountain. The Saturnia Spa have been appreciated both by the Etruscans
and the Romans; today this area is an enchanting place characterized by its beneficent water and by its
important Health Center.
San Casciano dei Bagni Spa - Placed in a panoramic corner of the Tuscany lowlands, not far from Siena,
the hot springs of Fonteverde comes up among a typical green countryside. You may choose between
a complete healthy treatment at the Thermal centre of Fonteverde (just at the beginning of the town) or
enjoy the ease of the public bathtub.
Other important spa in Tuscany are in Asciano (Terme di San Giovanni), Pitigliano, Paganico (Terme
di Petriolo) and the famous Montecatini and Chianciano terme.
Popes’ thermae (Viterbo) - The thermal resources of the whole Viterbo’s basin are certainly one of the
most precious and large ones in Italy. The original 14 thermal buildings, built under the instructions of
several popes, are dislocated along a wide area around the city of Viterbo. Today the biggest hot spring
water (called “Bullicame”) is exploited by the main thermal establishment. Maybe relaxing your body
inside this hot water (58 °C – 136.40 °F) is the best way to describe this spa benefits.
Other important spa in Latium are those of Tivoli, just 18 km far from Rome.
In Umbria the most famous thermae are in Città di Castello (Terme di Fontecchio) and Parrano.
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ACQUAPENDENTE - There are not sure details about Acquapendente origins. Though, the best hypothesis
is about Etruscan origins, later conquered by the Romans and finally destroyed by the Langobards.
Acquapendente, which is in Latium, is very close to Tuscany (3 km from Siena’s district), and close to Umbria,
too. Gracious and charming, this town puts together both beautiful architectural and natural features, as Duomo
and Rufeno Mountain. Mount Rufeno Park has become a natural reserve and it is expanded in a wide area of
3000 ha. Within its territory many animal species can be discovered, starting from foxes, wild boars, hares,
squirrels, dormice, barn-owls, porcupines and deer. This is why it is correct to consider Monte Rufeno kind of
a nature lovers.
Not far from this town there is the nice borugh of Torre Alfina, which castle is a marvellous example of the
medieval age.
Distances> Orvieto (25 km - 15 miles), Bolsena (22 km - 13 miles), Viterbo (50 km - 30 miles),
Bagnoregio (35 km - 21,7 miles), San Casciano de Bagni (25 km - 15,5 miles), Allerona (15 km - 9,3 miles),
Siena (90 km - 55,8 miles), Bomarzo (64 km - 39,6 miles).
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BOMARZO - Deeply plunged in Viterbo district and in a particularly green area, Bomarzo is a real representation
of a perfectly maintained medieval town. Its unique Rocky Monster’s Park is a great half a day stop.
The name "Bomarzo" is supposed to come from the Roman period from Polymartium of uncertain meaning.
It was a property of the Orsini family, whose castle is at the edge of the densely-built town, until Marzio sold it
to the Lante family in 1645.
Bomarzo's main attraction is a garden usually referred to as the Bosco Sacro (Sacred grove) or, locally,
Bosco dei Mostri ("Monsters' Grove"), because of its many large stone sculptures which populate this
particular landscape. A sphinx is located right at the entrance of the Park of the Monsters.
This garden was made by Pier Francesco Orsini, called Vicino (1528–1588), the patron of the arts, greatly
devoted to his wife Giulia Farnese; when she died, he created the gardens for her.
The park of Bomarzo was meant not to please, but to shock visitors. In itself there are lots of arcane symbolism.
The reason for the layout and design of the garden is largely unknown: perhaps they were meant as a foil to
the perfect symmetry and layout of the great Renaissance gardens nearby at Villa Farnese and Villa Lante.
Next to a formal exedra is a tilting watchtowerlike casina, the so-called Casa Storta ("Hanging House").
An octagonal templet was added about twenty years later to honor the second wife of Orsini, Giulia Farnese.
During the Nineteenth Century and deep into the twentieth the garden became overgrown and neglected, but
in the 1970s a program of restoration was implemented by the Bettini family, and today the garden, which
remains private property, is a major tourist attraction.
The surreal nature of the Parco dei Mostri appealed to Jean Cocteau and the great surrealist Salvador Dalí, who
discussed it at great length. The poet André Pieyre de Mandiargues wrote an essay devoted to Bomarzo. Niki de
Saint Phalle was inspired by Bomarzo for her Tarot Garden. The story behind Bomarzo and the life of Pier
Francesco Orsini are the subject of a fascinating novel by the Argentinian writer Manuel Mujica Láinez (1910-1984),
Bomarzo (1962). Mujica Láinez himself wrote a libretto based on his novel, which was set to music by Alberto
Ginastera (1967). The opera Bomarzo premièred in Washington in 1967. In Argentina the opera was banned by the
military dictatorship, but in the USA both Mujica Láinez and Ginastera were awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
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VITERBO - This is one of the Pope’s cities, rich of historical elements as churches, castles, towers, ruins
and an authentic jewel: the San Pellegrino quarter. The historical downtown, surrounded by 11th century
city walls, encloses several monuments. Since the Etruscans, the city has always been considered
central and strategic, especially during Gregorio X’s pontificate. Evidence of the religious heritage is the
magnificent Palazzo Papale, sited in the heart of the medieval quarter.
Driving around Viterbo, it is very easy to discover hidden attractions, starting from the Roman age (Ferento’s
Roman Amphitheatre), crossing the important renaissance Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, ending to
the amazing Villa Lante sited in Bagnaia.
Villa Lante is a perfect example of an Italian 16th century villa with garden, surrounded by thick walls and
full of original monuments. Its garden is the result of centuries of tradition. Another great italian monument
is the close Castello Ruspoli in Vignanello.
And just in the neighborhood of Viterbo you can find the Vico lake and the archeological site of Ferento
and Sutri. Not far there is the Bracciano lake with the Aviation Museum of Vigna di Valle.
Distances > Roma (80 km - 49,6 miles), Terni (58 km - 35,9 miles), Orvieto (45 km - 27,9 miles), Bolsena
(30 km - 18 miles), Bomarzo (40 km - 24,8 miles), Caprarola (19 km - 11,7 miles), Bagnoregio (30 km -
18,6 miles), Firenze (240 km - 149 miles).
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CAPRAROLA and Palazzo Farnese - Few steps far from the medieval city of Viterbo, the proud ang
glorious Villa Farnese has been standing for more than 500 years. The building complex dominates
the whole area, with the delicious Caprarola town. The beautiful Farnese family residence was built
by Antonio da Sangallo, to be a defensice fortress but in 1559, because of the will of Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese, the building was transformed into a grand reinassance palace.
Absolutely to be visited!
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TEVERINA AREA - This area spreads among the Bolsena Lake and the Tiber, together
with the stunning Clay Gullies Valley and many small towns and boroughs that show
their charming past times. Many spots are very interesting to be visited:
Bagnoregio - Main monuments: Porta Albana (1589), S. Bonaventura Church (1632),
S. Nicola Church (1581), where you can admire an antique Roman sarcofag used as an
altar.
Castiglione in Teverina - Beautiful medieval borough, famous for its incredible "Piazzetta",
where every year an important Wine Festival takes place. You can reach it by walking
through narrow streets among sixteenth century buildings. Important monuments: SS. Filippo
and Giacomo Church.
Celleno - Main monuments: S. Giovanni Battista Convent and Orsini Castle, with its small
S. Carlo Church. Celleno borough is very small but intense to live and it offers strong feelings
to its visitors any time of the year.
Graffignano - Main monuments: Baglioni Castle and Madonna del Castellonchio Church.
In Viterbo county, this town represents a typical north Latium area.
Lubriano - Main monuments: S. Caterina Tower, Bourbon del Monte Palace and a shocking
Monaldeschi Tower. Lubriano is also very close to Bagnoregio and Orvieto, almost on the
regional border which divides Umbria and Latium.
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TERNI - Marmore Falls - Once you get Terni, keep going on towards Valnerina. Suddenly,
only after 7 km, you will find on your right side the impressive and amazing Marmore Falls,
the highest falls in Europe, 165 mt high. This fall was artificially created by the
Romans, to supply their water needs.Terni is a dinamic city, one of the most modern in
Umbria, anyway beside its industrial fame, it is also rich of monuments and interesting
archeological area.Infact not far from the city, there are two different but great attractions:
one is the famous archeological site of Carsulae, while in the near Avigliano Umbro,
you can enjoy a restful excursion in the prehistoric Dunarobba's wood. The city
itself boasts a nice historical downtown, and just out of the city, there is the famous San
Valentino's cathedral.
Distances > Roma (90 km - 55 miles), Firenze (220 km - 136 miles), Perugia (60 km -
37 miles), Orvieto (75 km - 46 miles), Todi (60 km - 37 miles)
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AMELIA - this ancient Umbrian borugh is on a top hill position and its historical downtown
woth a visit, in particular the Cathedral is very interesting. Moreover near this monument
you can enjoy a visit to the old roman reserviors. The surroundings are interesting too
above all the ancient Para's dike.
Distances > Roma (103 km -63,8 miles), Perugia (100 km - 62 miles), Assisi (105 km - 65 miles),
Terni (40 km - 24,8 miles), Orvieto (65 km - 40 miles), Spoleto (55 km - 34 miles).
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