SOVANA.

Sovana is a small village in the Maremma, situated on a tuffaceous outcrop, which still retains the appearance of a classic medieval village. The origins of Sovana (formerly Suana) are very ancient, of its illustrious history numerous fine monuments have come down to us, witnesses to the power and wealth of the Etruscans, the Church and the Aldobrandeschi.
In the 7th century BC it was a thriving Etruscan town, was allied with Vulci (one of the largest city-states in Etruria) during the battle against Roman expansion.
When they were eventually forced to submit to the Romans, Sovana became a “Municipium,” and although it was politically “Roman,” the inhabitants were inexplicably good at holding firm to their
culture, its artistic and linguistic heritage to the 1st century B.C., Sovana is known to be one of the first cities to become Christian in all of Tuscany, thanks to the work of the evangelist St. Mamiliano in the 4th century. The saint’s story is accompanied by a legend about a treasure, later turned into a famous novel: the Count of Monte Cristo. Sovana was also the birthplace of Gregory VII (c. 1015 – May 25, 1085 A.D.), initially Ildebrando di Soana, who was pope from April 22, 1073 until his death in 1085, famous for being one of the greatest reformist popes in history.
The first real settlement dates back to the Bronze Age, then in the 7th century B.C. it became an Etruscan city, in the 4th century A.D. it became an Episcopal seat and in 935 the capital of the Aldobrandesque County; Sovana should also be remembered for being the birthplace of Ildebrando di Sovana, who became Pope Gregory VII in 1073.
The defensive center, or at least what remains of it, was once the focal point of the city that provided water supply, offered a bakery and even a warehouse for storing grain. The Rocca Aldobrandesca still stands proud, or at least partially so, with its imposing walls and tower still dominating the hill. Just below, there are tuff blocks forming a wall built to the Etruscans, probably on top of a pre-existing Etruscan/Roman fortress. Due to disuse and subsequent deterioration, it was decommissioned in the 17th century: what remains today is the gatehouse, a tower and part of the protective wall.
From the parking lot, you can go directly to the main square Piazza Pretorio, with its red brick pavement, where the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Palace of the Archives, and the Loggia del Capitano are located.
On the facade are nine stone coats of arms of the Captains of Justice and the commissioners of Siena who housed them.
The palace’s coats of arms bear witness to two centuries of intense public life in Sovana, from the late 1400s to the 1600s.
The building was turned into a center devoted to the preservation of special documents first, and then into a venue for temporary exhibitions. Today, the palace houses the Archaeological Museum where remains found at the nearby Ildebranda Tomb and the Etruscan Necropolis of Sovana can be admired.
The church of Santa Maria Maggiore, houses a valuable example of a pre-Romanesque ciborium (i.e., a shrine for hosts, a tabernacle), one of the oldest to have survived virtually intact in all of Tuscany. It is presumed to have been taken from the church of San Mamiliano; some exemplary 15th-century frescoes are also noted; an interesting detail is that the original facade and entrance are hidden at present because they were incorporated into the walls that bordered Palazzo Bourbon Del Monte built next door in the mid-1400s.
Built between the 8th and 9th centuries, St. Peter’s Cathedral is one of the most beautiful buildings in Sovana. The building was almost completely rebuilt from 1248 in the Romanesque-Gothic style. The entrance portal bears some precious decorations, an armed knight, a mermaid, the tree of life, peacocks, roses, and spiral figures. Inside, the column capitals also bear some decorations, one depicting scenes from the Old Testament. What makes the Cathedral unique is its astronomical orientation; on June 21, the day of the summer solstice, the first ray of the sun crosses the entire nave and reaches the opposite wall, creating a beautiful play of light, following the building canons of the Nordic peoples.

What to Do

Horseback riding (Belvedere riding school, tel. 0564 615465), hiking and biking, spa with hot-water pools in Saturnia.
The Archaeological Park of the City of Tufa (Sovana, Palazzo Pretorio, tel. 0564 614074; Vitozza – San Quirico, tel. 0564 619047) covers about 70 hectares and includes a territory of great landscape, archaeological and historical-artistic value. Although it consists of three areas (Sovana, San Rocco and Vitozza), the Park represents a single, extraordinary open-air museum, closely connected to the Orsini Fortress.