Sovana

3 km from PoggioBa certainly worth a visit is the small village of Sovana, which has preserved intact the appearance of the classic medieval village. At the entrance to the village you will find the ruins of the imposing Rocca Aldobrandesca dating back to the 11th century, built on top of an ancient Etruscan building, and falling into ruin around the 17th century.

Walking down Pretorio Street, whose herringbone paving is still partly the original one, you will arrive in Pretorio Square. The building located in the center, with a large clock on the facade and small bell gable, is the Palazzo dell’Archivio (12th cent.) once the seat of the municipality.

On the left side of the square, you will find the church of St. Mary dating from the late Romanesque period in whose interior above the altar you can admire a wonderful pre-Romanesque ciborium supposedly taken from the old church of St. Mamiliano.

Next to the Bourbon del Monte Palace, we find the early Christian church of San Mamiliano, now converted into a museum. It is one of Sovana’s oldest buildings, built on top of a pre-existing Etruscan structure; according to some, it was the town’s first cathedral, built in the 9th century to house the relics of St. Mamiliano from Giglio Island. It houses the Sovana treasure, discovered in 2004 during the restoration of the building. The treasury consists exclusively of coins minted under Emperor Leo I, in power between 457 and 474 AD, followed by those minted under Emperor Antemius, who reigned between 467 and 472 AD

On the right side of the square, we find the Praetorian Palace, a thirteenth-century building that has numerous coats of arms on its façade tracing back to the Sienese captains of the people and commissioners who governed Sovana between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries; today the Praetorian Palace houses the documentation center on the history and archaeology of Sovana.

Leaving the square and taking Via del Duomo we will head toward the cathedral. On this narrow street we will find the house of Ildebrando Aldobrandeschi, who in 1073 became Pope under the name Gregory VII. The Cathedral of Sovana is one of the most important buildings in the Romanesque-Gothic style in all of Tuscany.

For a relaxing stop, a snack, an aperitif, visit us at our wine shop Vino al vino, at 10 Cathedral Street.

Leaving the town, exit to the left and a few kilometers away visit the Etruscan necropolis, with monumental rock tombs including the Ildebranda (named after Ildebrando, Pope Gregory VII, who was born in Sovana), the Pola, Typhon, and Siren tombs, the numerous semidado tombs, and last in order of discovery the Tomb of the Winged Demons.

You can also walk in the mysterious Cavone and San Sebastiano Cave Streets.