The Norcia Farm is located in the heart of Italy, between Tuscany and Rome, a stone’s throw from Umbria and in an area rich in landscapes, history, culture and charm: Tuscia.
Ancient memories resurface along the itineraries that are dear to us
Etruscan itinerary
TARQUINIA palazzo Vitelleschi, sede del museo nazionale etrusco dove è possibile apprezzare notevoli collezioni di buccheri, splendidi corredi funerari, sarcofagi e i magnifici “cavalli alati” provenienti dal sito dell’Ara della Regina.
Necropoli Monterozzi con tombe etrusche affrescate e dichiarata dall’Unesco patrimonio dell’umanità
Ara della regina
Centro storico di Tarquinia paese con Santa Maria di Castello, chiesa romanica in splendida posizione panoramica.
VULCI: parco archeologico naturalistico con museo nazionale
NECROPOLI RUPESTRI di NORCHIA, nel Comune di Vetralla, e di SAN GIOVENALE nel Comune di Blera.
Roman Itinerary
FERENTO Amphitheatre, a few kilometres from Viterbo, still used in the summer for theatrical performances, ballets, operas.
SUTRI Amphitheatre with adjacent mithraeum and ancient medieval town located on a tuff spur.
TUSCANIA with the beautiful Romanesque churches of St. Peter and St. Mary embellished with frescoes (remarkable the Last Judgment) and cosmatesque floors. Both have been used for film sets: “Francesco” by Liliana Cavani.
VETRALLA agricultural medieval town, rich in traditions and resting place in one of the stages of the Via Francigena that crosses the Tuscia towards Rome. It is worth paying a visit to the church of S. Francesco, the town and local area museum, and the Villa Comunale Pietro Canonica.
Medieval Itinerary
VITERBO: the provincial capital offers the opportunity to wander around the medieval quarter of S. Pellegrino, to visit the town hall with its frescoed rooms, the local Museum located in the Albornoz Fortress and to appreciate the typical “spindle” fountains and the external accesses to the profferli buildings. Also worth visiting is the museum of the “zaffera” (typical Viterbo ceramics) in the Brugiotti Palace and the birthplace of S. Rosa, patron saint of Viterbo, which is celebrated on 4 September with the transport of a processional “car” .
The Terme dei Papi thermal baths, formerly frequented by Boniface VIII, offer moments of relaxation and the possibility of a visit to the nearby botanic garden with a rich section of succulents.
The Via Francigena
This road enters the Tuscia viterbese at Acquapendente, passing directly in front of the gate to our Farm, before continuing beyond Sutri on the way to Rome. The stages that pilgrims followed at a slow pace in Sigerico’s footsteps, cross gullies, meadows, olive groves, ruins and archaeological sites.
Renaissence Itinerary
CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO: one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, defined by the philosopher Bonaventura Tecchi as “The dying city”. Located in a valley of gullies, it is connected to Bagnoregio by a pedestrian bridge which only goes to increase its charm.
BOMARZO: visit to the Parco dei Mostri garden designed by the architect Pirro Ligorio, commissioned by Prince Orsini in memory of his wife Giulia Farnese. The stone monsters placed in the Park have fantastic and mythological forms.
SAN MARTINO AL CIMINO: Cistercian Abbey, characteristic “road of the roofs” (Unesco heritage), Palazzo Chigi- Albani
BAGNAIA: Villa Lante della Rovere once owned by Cardinal Gambara, residence of the President of the Republic, Renaissance garden with water features and examples of the art of topiary.
CAPRAROLA: Villa Farnese, residence of the President of the Republic, presidential.
BRACCIANO: Orsini Castle (fully furnished, the Orsini family has retained a wing that is rented out for famous receptions such as: weddings of Eros Ramazzotti and Tom Cruise); beautiful view of the lake and the Tolfa mountains; Caldara di Manziana is well worth a visit with its geothermal phenomena located within the Regional Natural Park of Bracciano – Martignano.
VIGNANELLO: Villa Ruspoli with its Italian style gardens and internal rooms, visits are accompanied by descendants of the Ruspoli family who open the doors of the family residence to visitors of the beautiful.
The itineraries described are only a simple indication of the most important things to see. However, in Tuscia there is much more: traditions, gastronomy, wines, landscapes, villages, farms, including ours, situated on the border between Vetralla and Viterbo.
Texts by Maria Chiara Norcia