Sutri, Province of Viterbo, Lazio
Sutri is picturesquely situated on a narrow hill, surrounded by ravines, a narrow neck on the west connecting it with the surrounding countryside. There are some remains of the ancient city walls of rectangular tufa blocks on the southern side of the town, and rock-cut sewers in the cliffs below them.
Info
- Altitude: 291 m a.s.l
- Population: about 6600 inhabitants in 2010
- Zip/postal code: 01015
- Dialing Area Code: +39 0761
- Patron Saint: Santa Dolcissima, celebrated on 16th September.
History
The position of Sutri was of strategic importance, commanding the road into Etruria, the later Via Cassia. It came into the hands of Rome after the fall of Veii, and a Latin colony was founded there. It was besieged by the Etruscans in 311-310 BC, but not taken. Its importance as a fortress explains, according to Festus, the proverb "Sutrium ire", of one who goes on important business. Inscriptions show that it was a place of some importance under the empire, and it is mentioned after the Fall of Rome as occupied by the Lombards.
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What to see
- The modern Cathedral, with an ancient crypt with twenty columns and a 13th-century belltower.
- In the cliffs opposite the town on the south is the rock-cut church of the Madonna del Parto, developed out of an Etruscan tomb
- a rock-hewn Roman amphitheatre, with axes of fifty-five and forty-four yards.
Where to stay
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