In the Tiber Valley rises Castiglione in Teverina, the ‘City of Wine’ on the Wine Road of Alta Tuscia, surrounded by thick woods and vegetation, 45 minutes from Viterbo and an hour and a half from Rome.
The history of Castiglione in Teverina goes back to the Etruscans, but the current inhabited centre arose only around the year one thousand when some inhabitants, having fled from Paterno destroyed by the Monaldeschi in 1351, united with the few inhabitants spread over the hillside.
The old town centre is built around the fortress and hosts a multitude of old houses as well as the Collegiate Church of Sts. Philip and James dating back to 1630: the façade of the church, in Renaissance style, is divided into two floors and each floor, in turn, into three fields by light pilasters. Also worthy of a visit are the Church of San Rocco, with a small bell gable tower, and the Church of the Madonna delle Macchie, with its façade adorned by a tympanum cornice.
Not to be missing is a visit to MUVIS , the MUVIS Wine and Food Science Museum, Europe’s largest wine museum built in the ancient cellars of the Vaselli Counts, with its 3,000 metres of display space and 4 underground floors dug out of the tufa rock, the last of which, called the Cathedral, houses ancient barrels with a diameter of 3 metres. Scenographic installations, videos, stories, images and tools for full involvement and immersion in the world and culture of oenology. In the summer, the ten-yearly Festa del Vino (Wine Festival) is held, five days dedicated to getting to know the local wine producers, tasting the wines paired with typical Teverina gastronomic specialities.
There are many excursions to be taken, also by bicycle, reaching the surroundings of the village: the Tuscia Maremmana, the Valle del Treja, Lake Bolsena and the Valle dei Calanchi, two naturalistic oases of relaxation.
The Colli etruschi viterbesi or Tuscia DOC and Orvieto wines, both white and red, are excellent. Typical products include Tuscia DOP extra virgin olive oil and pecorino and caciocavallo cheeses. Among the typical dishes are focaccia with porchetta, pasta with clams and porcini mushrooms, ravioli with truffle and pecorino cheese, roast fish and tagliata with Colonnata lard.
Castiglione in Teverina also celebrates two co-patron saints, Sts Philip and James (3 May) and Our Lady of the Snow (5 August), as well as the Feast of St Martin, Olio Funghi e Vino in November.