Viterbo

The Popes's town

Viterbo

It is a medieval city full of monuments and places of great artistic and historical charm. In the old town you can visit the fascinating Palace of the Popes, a symbol of the city and an ancient Papal residence. The Palace was built in the 13th century and has an elegant Loggia from which the newly elected Popes looked out. It offers a great view of Viterbo and the surrounding valleys. In front of the Palace there is the Cathedral of  San Lorenzo, a complex testimony of the city with  Tuscan influenced bell tower. One scenic   walk is through the medieval district of S. Pellegrino with its narrow streets, the elevated passages and the tower-houses from the Romanesque era. The streets overlook several art and antique shops, galleries and studios of painters.

The medieval Church of S. Maria della Verità, offers wonderful frescoes by Lorenzo da Viterbo, and a few steps away there is the Civic Museum  in a former Gothic convent where there are both Etruscan archaeological remains from a nearby Necropolis as well as numerous paintings, such as the Pietà by Sebastiano del Piombo, a student of Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Duration: 5/6 hours