Places to visit

Step out of the gate on Via San Tommaso and you are already inside the medieval city: no transfers, no parking to hunt for. Viterbo is walked, and the Tuscia — thirty-four towns among tuff, volcanic lakes and Etruscan necropolises — is less than an hour away by car.

This is the selection of places we genuinely recommend to our guests, ordered by distance from Nazareth Residence.

On foot from Nazareth Residence

• San Pellegrino medieval quarter: peperino alleys, outer staircases and flying arches, the best preserved medieval quarter in Europe. 10 minutes on foot.
• Palace of the Popes and Loggia of the Blessings: the first conclave in history was held here and lasted 33 months. 12 minutes on foot.
• San Lorenzo Cathedral and Colle del Duomo: black and white striped bell tower, museum and Etruscan archaeological area. 12 minutes on foot.
• The city walls and gates: five kilometres of ramparts you can walk in stages along the outer perimeter.
• Sanctuary of Santa Rosa: the patron saint, her incorrupt body and the memory of the Macchina procession on 3 September. 8 minutes on foot.
• Hidden churches: Santa Maria Nuova, San Sisto, Santa Maria della Verità with the Mazzatosta chapel.

Within a 20-minute drive

• Bullicame and Bagnaccio thermal springs: free open-air sulphur pools, open in winter too. 10 minutes.
• Villa Lante in Bagnaia: Mannerist water games and one of the finest Italian gardens in the country. 15 minutes.
• Park of the Monsters in Bomarzo: Vicino Orsini's sacred wood, peperino monsters and impossible perspectives. 20 minutes.
• Vitorchiano: a village suspended on a peperino spur, with the Moai donated by Easter Island. 15 minutes.
• Monte Cimino beech wood: UNESCO heritage, centuries-old beeches and the Pietra Rotonda. 20 minutes.
• San Martino al Cimino: a Cistercian village on an elliptical plan, shaped by Olimpia Maidalchini. 15 minutes.

Day trips in the Tuscia

• Civita di Bagnoregio, the dying town: reachable only on foot, across a bridge suspended over the badlands. 45 minutes.
• Lake Bolsena: the largest volcanic lake in Europe, swimmable water and the Bisentina and Martana islands. 35 minutes.
• Lake Vico and its nature reserve: the beech wood and Monte Fogliano, perfect for autumn foliage. 30 minutes.
• Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola: Vignola's royal staircase and the Hall of the World Map. 25 minutes.
• Monterozzi necropolis in Tarquinia: painted Etruscan tombs, UNESCO heritage. 50 minutes.
• Tuscania: Santa Maria Maggiore and San Pietro, pure Romanesque among lavender fields. 30 minutes.
• Calcata and Barbarano Romano: tuff villages, gorges and Etruscan Vie Cave. 45 minutes.
• Pitigliano, the Little Jerusalem: tuff, historic ghetto and sunken roads, already in the Maremma. 1 hour 15 minutes.

Content source

The detailed entries for these places, with background, opening times and seasonal updates, are curated by Viterbolandia, the contemporary guide to Viterbo and the Tuscia. Travel times are indicative and measured from Nazareth Residence.