What is the history of the villages perched on volcanic tuff?

The perched villages of Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovana owe their silhouette to tuff, a volcanic rock formed by eruptions about 600 000 ans ago: soft to dig into, but solid enough to serve as a promontory and building material. The Etruscans settled in the region from the 8th century BC ; they carved necropolises and the vie caveinto the rock, sunken roads that connected dwellings and funerary sites. Some walls exceed 20 meters. Their exact function remains debated: thoroughfares, drainage, or ritual paths have all been proposed.

The present-day landscape also owes much to the Middle Ages: the noble families, notably the Aldobrandeschi puis les Orsini à Pitigliano, fortified these heights. The cliffs made access difficult, while the towns stretched across the plateaus and along the edges of the precipices. When visiting, you can thus read several eras in a single place: Etruscan tombs below, medieval streets and fortifications at the top, then more recent buildings. To see the carved roads, look for the vie cave autour de Pitigliano and Sovana ; plan on suitable footwear, as some passages are steep and can be damp or slippery.