Viterbo: from the Medieval District to the Fountains of the City of the Popes

The historic center of Viterbo is a continuous sequence of aristocratic palaces, intriguing medieval districts, churches and cloisters from various eras, slender towers and elegant fountains made of peperino, the typical local stone. Ancient walls, built between 1095 and 1268, surround the city center of Viterbo, accessible at several points through seven gates, many of which still preserve their medieval form, among which Porta Fiorita is the oldest.

Viterbo points of interest

1 Medieval district of San Pellegrino

Characteristic is the medieval district of San Pellegrino, a kind of gallery of 13th-century architectural styles: towers, small squares, alleys, arches and the characteristic profferli, the external stairs of houses that were usually built directly on tuff and lacked foundations. Overlooking the homonymous square are the Palazzo degli Alessandri (13th century), the Torre Scacciaricci, and the Church of San Pellegrino dating to 1045. The medieval district of San Pellegrino, characterized by ancient peperino buildings, with the typical profferlo stairs running along the facades, narrow cobblestone streets and red flowers on the windowsills, transports the visitor into a timeless atmosphere and enchants the eye with unexpected city views.

2 Piazza del Plebiscito

Piazza del Plebiscito, dominated by the Clock Tower and the Palazzo dei Priori, has been the center of the municipal administration of Viterbo since 1270. Until then, the town hall was located in Piazza del Gesù, mentioned by Dante for the murder of Enrico di Cornovaglia by the brothers Guido and Simone di Monfort, which took place on March 13, 1271, inside the homonymous church.

3 Palazzo dei Priori

The grand Palazzo dei Priori, in Piazza del Plebiscito, the original seat of the municipality, was built starting from the 13th century and completed in the post-Renaissance era, featuring a beautiful internal courtyard adorned with an elegant loggia and the Fountain of the Lions, and astonishing frescoed interiors: the Royal Hall, the Madonna Hall with a famous pictorial cycle, the Council Hall, and the Municipal Chapel.

4 Cathedral of San Lorenzo

Among other wonders of Viterbo is the Cathedral or Cathedral of San Lorenzo, built in Romanesque form beginning in the 12th century. From the mid-13th century, with the presence of the popes, it became very significant, becoming the stage for religious and political events of great renown, such as the excommunication of Corradino of Swabia and the coronation of no less than 7 popes.

What to see in Viterbo

5 Santuario Madonna della Quercia

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Quercia arose around a painted tile depicting the Virgin with Child. In the second half of the 15th century, following a plague epidemic, the population built, in devotion, a wooden hut surrounding the oak tree. The church, the work of the Dominicans in Renaissance style, features ceramic lunettes by Andrea della Robbia on the three entrance portals, while the coffered ceiling in pure gold is by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.

6 Viterbo Civic Museum

The Civic Museum has been housed since 1955 in the cloister and the premises of the convent annexed to the church of Santa Maria della Verità, founded in the 12th century by the Premonstratensians, and renovated in the 14th century by the Servite Fathers, from whom the name Convent of the Servites derived. On December 13, 1994, thanks to the efforts of the Municipality of Viterbo and the Lazio Region, it was reopened to the public, renewed in all its structures. The Civic Museum showcases its collections on three exhibition levels, variously organized within two major chronological sequences: the Ancient Era on the lower floor, the Middle Ages and Modern Age on the upper floors.

CLOISTER AND GROUND FLOOR ROOMS
The cloister houses archaeological finds from the Viterbo area covering a chronological range from the 8th century BC to the 3rd century AD, through the Etruscan and Roman civilizations: sarcophagi, funerary cippi, fragments of slabs (mostly from Ferento). A dedicated exhibition space focuses on the figure of Annio of Viterbo and the fake relics the friar created to support his hypotheses about the Etruscan history of the Tuscia capital.
FIRST FLOOR
On the first floor is the historical-artistic section, formed after the unification of Italy: medieval paintings and sculptures, paintings from the Modern Age (the “Pietà”).
SECOND FLOOR
The third exhibition level is reserved for minor arts and historical memories. It includes the display of a 16th-century papal treasure and a set of 18th-century pharmacy ceramics from the Ospedale Grande degli Infermi, as well as a collection of design drawings for the Macchina di Santa Rosa. The exhibition concludes with a significant gallery of 18th-century portraits, in which several figures connected with the origins and early development of the civic collections housed in the Museum are recognizable.

What to visit in Viterbo

7 The fountains of Viterbo

Not to be missed is a look at the fountains, numerous and mostly medieval, which together create an architectural system that perhaps has no equal in Italy. In Viterbo’s squares there seem to be 99 fountains, all with the characteristic spindle shape with a lion’s head and leaves decorating the upper part. The oldest, dating to 1200, is reportedly the fountain in Piazza della Morte, named after the “Religious Confraternity of Prayer and Death” that resided there. The fountain in Piazza della Rocca holds the record for its imposing size, while the fountain in Piazza Grande is recognized as the most beautiful, once called Fontana Separi, meaning “without equal in beauty”.

8 Palazzo dei Papi

Viterbo is known as the “city of the Popes,” in memory of the time when the papal seat was moved there as a refuge from the struggles of Rome. The Palazzo dei Papi from 1255 stands on the top of the San Lorenzo hill, where the homonymous Cathedral of 1192 and the 14th-century bell tower in Tuscan Gothic style rise. The artistic loggia, built in 1267, is the pride of the palace: featuring seven arches and the crescent below, it is an elegant terrace overlooking the Valle di Faul, from which the Popes would lean out to bless the city. The façade is preceded by a wide staircase and crowned by spectacular battlements, leading to the entrance door of the palace, the access point to the Sala del Conclave. Here took place the first historical Conclave, from which Viterbo takes its name: in 1270, after 3 years since the death of Pope Clement IV, fed up with waiting for the new Pontiff’s election, the citizens locked the cardinals in and uncovered the palace roof, forcing them to quickly elect Gregory X.

9 The walls of Viterbo

A walk around the mighty walls that encircle the historic center, equipped with ancient gates, at which towers often stood guarding not only their respective palaces but also the city (it seems that originally more than a hundred existed).

10 Basilica and Convent of San Francesco alla Rocca

Entering through Porta Fiorentina, on the left in the upper part of Piazza San Francesco, stands the monumental complex of the Basilica and Convent of San Francesco alla Rocca. Construction began in 1237 on land donated to the Franciscans by Gregory IX. In 1873 the church-convent complex was confiscated due to the suppression of religious orders and only in 1886 was the temple, which had been declared a national monument, reopened for worship. The bombings of 1944 severely damaged the church, leaving only the perimeter walls standing. The reconstruction, completed in 1953 by the Superintendence, restored the temple’s original lines. Inside the church stand out for beauty the mausoleum of Adrian V, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, the mausoleum of Clement IV, by Pietro Oderisio, and the oil container signed by the Vassalletto.

The convent premises host the interconventual library and a contemporary art museum, with works by Greco, Mastroianni, Brindisi, Cesetti, De Chirico, Valery Escalar and others. This museum is the result of the intelligent work of Father Felice Rossetti (native of Grotte), who over the years managed to collect the materials that are now on display.

11 Herbarium Museum of Tuscia

It is one of the three university Herbaria of Lazio, included in the network of Museums of the City of Viterbo and the University Museums Network of CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors). The Herbarium Museum of Tuscia has been listed since 1996 in the Index Herbariorum (world catalog of Herbaria) under the acronym ‘UTV’, currently boasting a collection of over 29,000 dried specimens of ‘spermatophytes’ and ‘pteridophytes’ in excellent condition, gathered in 360 packets; specimens were provided by more than 700 collectors both Italian and foreign, and the collection is increased by about 500-1,000 specimens annually. The Herbarium has a library with over 150 volumes, equipment for mounting, studying and conserving specimens, and an important computerized archive. It represents a facility primarily dedicated to the study of plant biodiversity and its documentation over time, with particular reference to the Italian territory, guaranteeing consultation and loan of samples especially to taxonomic and geobotanical specialists.

12 Santa Rosa House Museum

The Santa Rosa monastic structure was founded by Pope Innocent III to host a group of pious Viterbese women who had withdrawn on the San Marco hill to live according to Franciscan rules. From then on, located on the Via Francigena, the structure became a meeting and passing point for pilgrims heading to Rome. The sanctuary has housed, since 1253, the incorrupt body of Saint Rosa.

A characteristic cultural event of the city is the “Macchina di Santa Rosa”: a 28-meter tall tower weighing 5 tons, carried by the Facchini di Santa Rosa, patroness of the city, which every September 3rd, for about 750 years, is carried on their shoulders through the streets of the city.

Outside the city center is the Bullicame spring, a source of sulfurous water mentioned by Dante in the 14th canto of the Inferno, whose aesthetic and healing properties make it one of the main tourist attractions of the city. Not far away, the Signorino road offers a suggestive path along the walls of an ancient Etruscan road carved into the tuff, as well as many underground tunnels that once connected the buildings within the city, now used as cellars.

Villa Lante in Bagnaia, a hamlet of Viterbo, is, along with the Park of Monsters of Bomarzo, one of the most famous Italian surprise mannerist gardens of the 16th century.

What to do in Viterbo

15 Where and what to eat in Viterbo

Viterbo is rich in venues, taverns, and trattorias typical of the Tuscia region with average prices. Among the culinary specialties, we recommend lombrichetti, a tasty pasta made from water and flour, Viterbese acquacotta, chicory soup with potatoes and poached eggs, and tozzetti with hazelnuts replacing the almonds of traditional Sienese recipes.

16 Where to sleep in Viterbo

Accommodations in Viterbo vary in price depending on type and category. They range from more economical B&Bs to luxury 5-star hotels. It all depends on how much you intend to spend.