Urban Landscapes

Day 1: Arrive at hotel: unpack, acclimatize. We meet for an afternoon passeggiata. We are invited for an evening of wine and dinner at a private villa with a fabled wine cellar.

Day 2: This morning we visit San Pellegrino, one of the best-preserved medieval centers in Europe, and its relationship to bustling Viterbo, the provincial capital of Tuscia. Outside of the city we’ll visit the Santa Maria della Quercia sanctuary complex built by Florentine artists and craftsmen in the High Renaissance. We stop in Bagnaia to explore this small town and the spectacular Mannerist garden at Villa Lante. We’ll return to Civitella for dinner and wine-tasting.

Day 3: This morning we’ll see the town of Bagnoregio and its neighbor, Civita di Bagnoregio, both of Etruscan origin. From here we’ll see the town of Bolsena on the edge of the volcanic lake of the same name and explore to find castles, churches and ancient ruins, along its steps, ramps and alleyways. After lunch, we’ll visit Montefiascone for some of the area’s best wine, and turn toward Civitella, with a brief stop for an aperitivo in the small, town of Celleno before dinner, near the hotel.

Day 4: After breakfast, in the hills above the provincial capitol, we visit San Martino al Cimino, a fiefdom designed by a noblewoman as work-therapy for ex-cons and prostitutes. We have early lunch en route to the Farnese Palace and gardens. We drive the perimeter of Lago di Vico to pretty Ronciglione and then take the most beautiful stretch of Via Cassia, Rome’s access road to its western empire. After our tour of Capranica, we’ll proceed to Civita Castellana where we transfer our lodging.

Day 5: This morning we go to the ancient Mediterranean capital of Cerveteri located on the ancient lava track to the Mediterranean. The Etruscan ‘City of the Dead”, at Banditaccia, was built 25 centuries ago and is still a model of town planning. On our return, we’ll visit another volcanic lake, Lago di Bracciano and explore the town of Anguillara, a medieval town with 16th and 17th century embellishments.

Day 6: Down the Via Flaminia from Civita Castellana, we make morning visits to Calcata, a dramatic rock-top town and Opera Bosco, a teambuilding sculpture workshop in an old-growth forest, the alma mater of many of the town’s 80 residents. We have lunch in a mosaic studio on a cliff. After lunch we tour Civita Castellana, in the steps of Mozart, visiting its papal fort, now a museum housing astonishing Etruscan objects. We take a break for tea in a 17th century palace. Our last passeggiata together is in nearby Nepi, with its important aqueducts, castle, city walls and the signature waterfall. We have an early farewell dinner, with dessert, spumanti and digestives at the hotel.

Day 7: After breakfast we’ll leave the hotel at 9 a.m. for return travel to your airport or train station.

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How did a XII century defensive citadel become a center of successful XVI century trade? Was there disappointment or joy when a WWII bombing of an important medieval church revealed a more ancient temple beneath it? How did a baroque palace become a XX century jail? The transition from Roman grandeur through medieval seclusion to Renaissance brilliance is at the root of urban life in modern Italy. On this seven-day tour, we visit historic towns of Lazio, in this seismically active and strategic zone, which make the landscape so special.

We’ll stay in two places during our tour: Civitella d’Agliano and Civita Castellana. During our tour we hope to visit most or all of the following places, depending on circumstances, scheduling and allowing for the unforeseen: Viterbo, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Quercia, Bagnaia, Bagnoregio and Civita di Bagnoregio, Bolsena, Montefiascone, Celleno, San Martino al Cimino, Ronciglione, Caprarola, Lago di Vico, Capranica, Cerveteri, Lago di Bracciano, Anguillara, Calcata, and Nepi.