ヴァレンターノの峡谷・トップ8

Via Cava di San Roccoは、この地域で最も印象的なエトルリア時代の通路の1つです。この小道は完全に凝灰岩に掘られており、高さ20メートルに達する垂直な壁には、シダや苔の豊かな植生が生い茂っています。 このルートは、レンテ川の谷と上部の高原を結んでいます。登り道に沿って、古代の水路システムや岩に刻まれた階段があります。上端に到達すると、ソラーノの町とオルシーニ要塞の最も象徴的な景色を眺めることができるサン・ロッコ展望エリアに到着します。壁の涼しい微気候のため、地面は湿っていて滑りやすい場合があります。

Hiking during rainy days can be very slippery. It’s best to avoid walking above the caves, as there are several holes in the area.

Sorano is a small medieval town built on tuff rocks in the province of Grosseto/Tuscany.

beautiful hamlet with a wonderful view

wonderful village dug into the tuff

The Vie Cave, sometimes also called Cavoni, form a suggestive road system from the Etruscan era that connects various settlements and necropolises between Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano. They mainly develop between steep tuff rock walls, some of which exceed twenty meters in height. In Roman times, these streets became part of a road network connected to the main trunk of the Via Clodia, an ancient road that connected Rome to Saturnia, passing through the city of Tuscania and branching off from the Via Cassia in Lazio. The Via Cava di San Giuseppe is one of the most evocative in the area, as well as the longest, leading up to Pitigliano. This street is associated with the traditional torchlight procession of San Giuseppe, which is held on March 19th. The link between ancient pagan rites and the dark atmosphere along the route, which still persists today, dates back to Christian times, when small niches with painted sacred images, known as "devil chasers", were dug to protect travellers.

The Via Cava di San Rocco goes up the opposite side of Sorano, skirting the remains of the church of San Rocco, a religious building in Romanesque style now reduced to ruins that maintain sections of the original wall structures. Behind these remains extends a vast Etruscan necropolis with tombs dug into the tuff. The Vie Cave, dug by the Etruscans about 3000 years ago in the tuff, are still shrouded in mystery regarding the technique used to sculpt the rock so precisely and vertically. This street represents the most important of the Vie Cave around Sorano, as it guided the Etruscans to their necropolis. Incredibly, for over six centuries, from the Middle Ages until 1940, it was the only road that connected the city of Sorano to Sovana. Every horse, cart and traveler had no choice but to travel this steep, damp road between its high walls.

Sorano is located in a suggestive mountainous region immersed in the richness of forests. The medieval village clings to a steep tuff rock called Masso Leopoldino, which dominates the valley of the Lente stream. The tower houses, the winding streets, the open spaces, the alleys and tunnels that intertwine in the heart of the rock give the neighborhood a unique charm. The panorama from the terrace on the top of the cliff offers exceptional views of Sorano, the volcanic gorges and the Lente valley. Over the centuries, Sorano has been the scene of disputes, sieges and wars, earning it the curious nickname of "Italy's match".