Trekking in Tuscany | Excursion through the Etruscan vie cave, from Sovana to San Rocco and Sorano

Trekking in Toscana | Excursion through the Etruscan vie cave, from Sovana to San Rocco and Sorano

Beautiful itinerary from Sovana to San Rocco and Sorano, through the valleys below Sovana and the famous via cava of San Rocco.

The vie cave, or excavated roads (singular: Via Cava), are narrow paths that the Etruscans cut into the tufa or soft stone. Although there use is shrouded in mystery, these fascinating hiking paths dug into the tufa rock hills remain a powerful reminder of the area’s impressive Etruscan heritage. One of the most impressive vie cave is the Via Cave di San Rocco,

This itinerary is an extended version of the trail Sovana - Sorano, and starts at Sovana.

Mappa percorso Sovana - San Rocco - Sorano

Sovana is a small town with an intriguing Romanesque Cathedral.
In Sovana the via del Pretorio runs from the ruins of the Rocca Aldobrandesca, the fortress, to the Cathedral.

We follow the street on the left of Il Palazetto, the via Rodolfo Siviero, and after a brief visit to the Duomo, one of the finest Romanesque buildings in southern Tuscany, we return along the via del Duomo to the central piazza. The family-run La Tavernetta is a good choice for lunch. Then we walk towards Sorano. The route starts on the right side of the fortress. Under the fortress we take a narrow asphatt street on the right, following the signs for Tomba Silena. ---- We walk on an asphalt road for about 2 kilometers, before turning left, immersing ourselves in the fascinating Etruscan landscape.		Rocca Aldobrandesca, we walk down on the right of the fortress
After 9 km we reach the Etruscan necropolis of San Rocco with on the right, uphill, some incredible panoramic views of the town Sorano. Near the entrance, on the left side of the church, we walk down to the river Lente, following the Via Cava of San Rocco, one of the most impressive sunken roads in the region. Along the via cava, which is considered one of the most evocative in the area because of its altitude and the narrow hairpin turns that characterise it, there are several side exits that lead, via steps and steep climbs, to the various plots of land that were once used for viticulture. These were actually narrow strips of land that became arable only after the tufa bank was broken up with wedges and pickaxes.[2] Shortly after we crossed the Lente river on a beautiful medieval bridge, we turn right and follow the path climbing to the Porta dei Merli were we enter Sorano.		The Via Cava

Sorano, Porta dei Merli	Piazza della chiesa	Piazzale a ridosso della Torre dell'Orologio





Sovana, from the Etruscans to the Middle Ages

Rocca Aldobrandesca	Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore	Palazzetto dell'Archivio

		Interiore
L'area archeologica di Sovana Sovana is a stone’s throw from the most impressive Etruscan necropolis in Tuscany were we can visit the fascinating Tomba del Sileno as well as the Tomba dei Demoni Alati and the unique Tomba Ildebranda in the necropolis del Poggio Felceto.

Tomba Ildebranda, Sovana	Tomba Ildebranda, Sovana	Tomba dei Demoni Alati
		The Etruscans and the Vie Cave, Cesare Moron, 2008
Sorano

Sorano, Masso Leopoldino	Sorano, Porta dei Merli	Collegiata di San Niccolò

Il Masso Leopoldino di Sorano, la Torre dell'Orologio e la Fortezza	Sorano, le meraviglie del tufo nella Maremma toscana	Parco degli Etruschi, Sorano, scacciadiavoli sulle pareti della via cava
Trekking in Tuscany \| Walking along the Etruscan pathways, the vie cave Itinerary from Sorano, to the ancient city of Vitozza and San Quirico \| 9 km \| 2 hours \| gpx Sorano \| Via Cava di San Rocco \| 2,1 km \| 2 hours [From Masso Leopoldino to San Rocco] San Rocco \|Parco Archeologico Città del Tufo \| San Rocco Il Parco archeologico Città del Tufo sul sito di Musei di Maremma. A slow traveler's guide to Italy \| The Etruscan necropolis of Sovana \| Mappa Le Vie Cave tra Sovana e Pitigliano \| Sovana e la Via Clodia Walking through the Etruscan necropolis of Sovana \| From Sovana to Via cava di San Sebastiano and the Tomba della Sirena (Siren Tomb) \| Download pdf Cicloturismo in Maremma \| Itinerari in bici in Maremma Le città del Tufo SORANO - SAN QUIRICO - MADONNA DELLE GRAZIE - PITIGLIANO - SORANO La Maremma in bici tra Sorano, Pitigliano e San Quirico [1] Foto di Mika Auramo, licenziato in base ai termini della licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione-Condividi allo stesso modo 3.0 Unported [2] Tuscan Trail \| Itinerario IV La Via Cava di San Rocco [3] Foto Rein Ergo Copyright @Traveling in Tuscany All rights reserved
Caves and caverns, Via Cava San Rocco, Sorano

Via Cava San Rocco, aves and caverns, Sorano [3]