{{coord, 42, 40, 40, N, 11, 45, 25, E, display=title, type:landmark_region:IT Vitozza is a cave settlement located near the village of San Quirico in the municipality of

Sorano Sorano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany (Italy). It as an ancient medieval hill town hanging from a tuff stone over the Lente River. History Sorano was probably inhabited by Villanovan culture, but the first ...

, in the

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto ( it, links=no, provincia di Grosseto) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Gros ...

, southern

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), which was inhabited from

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

times until the end of the 18th century.

History

The ancient city of Vitozza was built in the medieval era, most likely at the end of the 11th century, around a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

built by the

Aldobrandeschi family The Aldobrandeschi were an Italian noble family from southern Tuscany. Overview Of probable Lombard origin, they appear in history as counts in the 9th century. The first known count was Hildebrand II (857). Their possession extended to what i ...

within a cave settlement which was most likely already inhabited during

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. In the first half of the 13th century, Vitozza passed temporarily under the control of

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

and then the Basque family, before being taken up again by the Aldobrandeschi and included into the territory of

County of Sovana A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in 1274, the year of the division of family assets. Between the end of the 13th and the early 14th century, the place was conquered by the

Republic of Siena The Republic of Siena ( it, Repubblica di Siena, la, Respublica Senensis) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its e ...

under which it stayed until the middle of the 15th century. Subsequently, Vitozza became part of County Orsini, but later there was a move away from the castle and its defensive structures for reasons yet unknown, causing the decline of the settlement. The population gradually migrated towards the nearby town of San Quirico, however, Vitozza was inhabited until the end of the 18th century.

Archaeological Area

In the

Middle Age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

s, Vitozza had a fortified castle, at least two fortresses, and places of worship including a major and two minor

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

es, in addition to the cave settlement.

Settlement

The cave settlement of Vitozza is certainly the largest and most important of central Italy. It includes over two hundred

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

excavated from the local tuff stone. The caves used for human habitation extend along a path through the woods overlooking the valley of the river Lente. Some are quite close to each other, while others tend to be more isolated. Depending on their type, caves can in fact be classified in four different types: The first group is characterized by tunnels with rectangular openings which are often on different levels, connected by ladders and steps, with houses located on the upper levels and animal shelters in the lower ones. A second group of caves presents rectangular structures destined to house the animals. A third type of caves was for mixed use - they are characterized by an arched opening, a circular area and attached rooms. The circular part, for animal use, was equipped with a feeder, the other rooms were probably used for habitation. The northwestern part of Vitozza includes a group of dozens of caves known as ''columbaria'' which almost certainly were created in

times and remained active throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

for the purpose of pigeon breeding, a common practice in the territory of

Fortresses

The ''primo castello'' (first castle) is a fortification located along the path that runs through the entire rock settlement. The fortification is the first of two elevated fortifications or '' rocche'' shaping the castle ruins of medieval Vitozza. The structure shows thick walls of blocks of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

, which would take up a door that opened along the access route. The remains of the fortress are visible on both sides of the path that forks just before. On the north side, the building was surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, now rendered invisible by vegetation, which further protected the defensive structure. The ''secondo castello'' (second castle) is a fortified structure located along the path leading to the ''columbaria'' (caves used for rearing poultry) and the source of the river Lente. It is situated on a hill which rises to the right of the path, and is better preserved than the first fortress.

Chiesaccia

The ruins of a church dating back to the Middle Ages, called ''The Chiesaccia'', is situated to the right of the main path near the ''primo castello''. It has a simple rectangular floor plan and a semicircular

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. On the northern side of the plateau near the church are the ruins of another defensive building, as well as the remains of a gate that controlled access through the road parallel to the ridge.

References

* Giuseppe Guerrini (Ed). ''Torri e Castelli della provincia di Grosseto'' (Amministrazione Provinciale di Grosseto). Siena, Nuova Immagine Editrice, 1999. * Carlo Citter. ''Guida agli edifici sacri della Maremma''. Siena, Nuova Immagine Editrice, 2002.

External links

"City of Tuff" Archaeological Park: Medieval Rupestrian Town of Vitozza

Parco degli Etrusci: Rupestrian settlement of Vitozza (Sorano)
History of Tuscany Archaeological sites in Tuscany Sorano