Tuscania (the Tuscia town of approximately 8,500 inhabitants in the Viterbo province. 80km north of Rome on the plateau between the Marta river valley and the Etruscan city territory of ancient Tuscana) has two Romanesque churches whose ensemble quality exceeds anything comparable in northern Lazio and rivals the famous Romanesque ensembles of Tuscany for specific architectural achievement: the church of San Pietro (the 8th-11th century church on the ancient Etruscan-Roman sacred hill northwest of the modern town, built on the foundations of the ancient temple precinct, with the white marble facade, the tower, and the rose window visible across the plateau as a landmark from kilometers away) and the church of Santa Maria Maggiore (the 12th century church at the edge of the historic center, with its specific carved portal depicting the Last Judgment, one of the finest examples of Romanesque narrative relief sculpture in Lazio). The two churches together constitute the most complete Romanesque sacred precinct in northern Lazio, and receive a fraction of the visitors that the comparable Romanesque ensembles of Pisa, Lucca, or Modena attract.
The Tuscania position (the volcanic tufo plateau, the Marta river valley below, the Etruscan road system visible in the surrounding landscape) and the specific 1971 earthquake damage (the earthquake of February 6, 1971 that killed 31 people and destroyed much of the historic center) that prompted the careful restoration of the two Romanesque churches give Tuscania its specific contemporary character: a town rebuilt from earthquake damage that chose to restore its medieval heritage with exceptional care rather than simply reconstruct for convenience.
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Tuscania: The Two Churches
San Pietro: The Finest Romanesque in Northern Lazio
The church of San Pietro (on the hill northwest of the Tuscania historic center, the isolated sacred hill accessible by the road from the Porta del Poggio, approximately 1km from the town center) is the specific Tuscania masterwork: the facade (the white limestone with the central rose window, the lion portal, and the 12th-century sculptural program of the archivolt figures) faces southwest over the plateau, catching the afternoon light in a way that makes the stone glow warm gold. The interior (the three-aisled nave on ancient column spolia, the crypt below the altar with its forest of ancient columns, and the specific acoustic quality of the stone interior) is as impressive as the exterior. The crypt in particular, the pre-existing space beneath the church, incorporating columns from Roman and Etruscan buildings, has the specific atmospheric quality of a space that has been sacred continuously for 2,500 years.
Santa Maria Maggiore: The Last Judgment Portal
The Santa Maria Maggiore portal (the carved marble portal of the 12th-century church at the edge of the historic center, depicting the Last Judgment in the archivolt and tympanum) is the most important single Romanesque sculptural work in northern Lazio: the Christ in Majesty in the central tympanum, the angels and the elect on his right, the damned on his left, and the specific narrative details of the medieval eschatological imagination carved in the marble with the provincial competence and specific expressive force that Lazio Romanesque sculpture achieves at its best.
Q&A: Tuscania
How do I combine Tuscania with Tarquinia and Viterbo?
The northern Tuscia circuit (Tuscania + Tarquinia + Viterbo) is the most rewarding single-day itinerary in northern Lazio for the visitor interested in archaeology, medieval architecture, and landscape: Tuscania (morning, 2-3 hours, the two churches), Tarquinia (lunch and afternoon, 3-4 hours, the painted tombs and the museum), Viterbo (evening, the papal quarter and the fountain). Total driving distance approximately 80km. Accommodation in Viterbo or Tuscania for a two-day extension that adds the Lago di Bolsena circuit on day two.
Internal Links
- Tarquinia: Tombe Dipinte 20km da Tuscania
- Piansano: Il Plateau Etrusco Sopra Tuscania
- Romanico della Tuscia: San Pietro e il Contesto
- Lago di Bolsena: Il Circuito dopo Tuscania
- Tuscania in Inverno: Le Chiese Senza Turisti
- Fotografare San Pietro di Tuscania: Luce Pomeriggiana
- Romanico Tuscia: Il Percorso Completo
