glorious views of the gorges 60 km away from Rome

The city of Civita Castellana (VT) is part of the Faliscan territory that forms the heart of northeast Lazio, between the provinces of Rome and Viterbo. The territory is characterized by irregular tufa hills: river erosion has cut dramatic vertical channels into the tufa cliffs to form deep and narrow valleys and the resulting landscape is one of ravines – tufa walls, principally characterized by pyroclastic ground layers, which overhang deeply cut channels. The river Treja, which originates near Campagnano and runs from south to north until it joins the Tiber River, is the most important river in the area. In the Treja River valley erosion has created natural tiers of red tufa and less eroded black slag in a way that has created breaks in level that have contributed to the formation of small waterfalls ( the most notable being the waterfall at Monte Gelato in Mazzano (RM) ). Excursions along the Treja are among the most suggestive and fascinating in this area : in their wild severity the tufa walls enclose rocky ravines and numerous archaeological sites as well as the ruins of tiny towns and castles. Encountering these natural and man – made features along these paths provides a sense of the continuity of use of these tracks through the Faliscan, Roman and medieval periods. This landscape was much loved by “Romantic” travelers on the Grand Tour who explored this area, above all, between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries and who drew significant artistic inspiration from its ravines (especially J.W. Goethe and J. B. C. Corot). The faliscan territory, historically called the “ Ager Faliscus”, had Falerii ( modern Civita Castellana) as its capital. The faliscan people were contemporaries and allies of the etruscans but differed from them in several key ways. First among these differences was their langauge which, being of indo – european origin, had significant affinities with latin. Numerous sediments of various geological epochs formed mineral quarries in the surrounding countryside. Over the centuries these minerals contributed to the development of productive activities linked to the ceramic arts, and today Civita Castellana is one of the dominant commercial ceramics centres of Italy.