Tessennano is one of the smallest villages in the Viterbo area, situated along the Oil Road.
This picturesque hill village spreads out its countryside like a colourful dress made of luxuriant fields that have been skilfully tilled by the few experts among its 400 inhabitants.
Growing on ancient olive trees, the excellent Caninese, Leccino, Pendolino, Maurino and Frantoio varieties are used to make the Canino DOP EVO oil. The plots of land at the foot of the Canino Mountains that qualify for this cultivation are very few and carefully selected.
The Pasta and Beans Festival enlivens the village during the month of August and attracts a remarkable number of people.
The village and its environs extend over a tuff bed of Pleistocene origin and the gentle sloping of the hills benefit the local agricultural products. The surrounding woodland make for healthy air, as well as a pleasant climate nearly year round.
Legend has it that Tessennano was founded by Ascanius, son of Aenea. Its name derives from Tuscia Nana (small Tuscia) to distinguish it from Tuscia Grande (great Tuscia), modern-day Tuscania. During the Etruscan period it was under the rule of both Vulci and Tarquinia. Further information reaches back to the 11th century, when Matilda of Tuscany gave the city to Pope Pascal II. It would later go to the Farnese family then to the Duchy of Castro and back to the Apostolic Chamber in the 17th century.