The Etruscan city of Ferento was founded in the 4th century BC on the tuff hill of Pianicara, between the Vezzarella and Acqua Rossa streams. On the opposite hill of S. Francesco was the settlement of Acquarossa, the archaic Ferento suddenly destroyed at the end of the 6th century BC. Enclosed by block walls, it has a regular layout, by streets; the main axis is made up of the urban stretch of Via Ferentiensis. The city is only partially explored; a Gracchan colony and later a municipality, it experienced significant urban development during the Augustan period with the construction of the theater, an amphitheater, the Forum, and the Augusteum; the baths and the building renovations related to the theater date back to the 2nd century AD. Surrounding it are the ancient necropolises, especially at Pianicara, and on the adjacent heights, from the Hellenistic to the Imperial age, where numerous irregularly shaped chamber tombs have been uncovered. One of these tombs, of significant importance for the issue of Romanization in Etruria and for the linguistic and epigraphic aspects of the inscriptions found there, belonged to the Salvii, ancestors of Emperor Otho, who was born here. The settlement of Ferento, reduced to a small castle, was destroyed by the people of Viterbo in 1172 under the pretext of heresy.
Information on Archaeological Area Ancient City of Ferento
S.P. Teverina Km. 8.000
01100 Viterbo (Viterbo)
0761325929 (Rocca Albornoz museum)
Source: MIBACT
