The archeological site of Città del Tufo includes the
necropolis in Sovana, the caves of San Rocco and Vitozza, the archives in the
Centro di Documentazione in Sovana and the medieval museum in Fortezza Orsini di
Sorano (information tel. 0564/614074).
The earliest settlement in Sovana
dates back to the end of the Bronze Age (1000-1600 B.C.). The surrounding walls
which are built with blocks of local porous limestone rock called Tufo, were
constructed when the city was refounded in 400 B.C., probably due to renewed
trading activity with neighbouring towns in central and northern Etruria. The
huge rupestrian tombs are evidence of the importance and growth of the city not
long after the roman conquest in 280 B.C. The most elaborate monumental tombs
are the temple shaped ones (Tomba Ildebranda, Tomba Pola) and the Tomba del
Tifone, Tomba della Sirena, Tomba del Sileno, which have detailed engraved
decorations.
It became a bishop’s diocese in 523-526 AD, and under the
bizantine dominion until the end of the 6th Century when it was conquered by the
Longobards. The ciborium still preserved in the chiesa di Santa Maria dates back
to the end of the 8th Century.
