In the green countryside of Tuscia, perched on a hill is the village of Cellere, the ‘City of Oil’, the extra virgin Canino DOP olive oil town with unique views of the Tiber Valley. The birthplace of the brigand Domenico Tiburzi is 45 km from Viterbo and 140 from Rome.
Its Roman origins are uncertain, linked to the ancient centre of Cellae Cerris, as is its descent from Ceres, the goddess of the harvest. What is certain, however, is that the rule of the Farnese family, from as early as 1300, coincides with Cellere’s period of greatest glory, most evident in the two outstanding monuments: the Farnese residential palace, the result of the transformation of the Fortress, built in a dominating position with respect to the inhabited centre to which it is connected by the Ponte della Rocca bridge; the church dedicated to the patron saint S. Egidio Abate, celebrated on 1 September with the famous biscuits of the Farnese family. Egidio Abate, celebrated on 1 September with the famous Sant’Egidio biscuits, commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese from Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, who designed it in the shape of a Greek cross, with 16th-century frescoes.
Inaugurated in 2007 in remembrance of the brigand Tiburzi, the 15-year-old outlaw from Cellere, the Museum of Brigandage is a veritable treasure trove of the history and stories of Maremma brigandage from the second half of the 19th century, through audio and video installations, drawers, trapdoors and hiding places, books and filing cabinets, reproductions of period newspapers and cartoons, and stories, poems and songs.
Whether on foot, horseback or mountain bike, the Timone Springs Park with its untouched natural beauty is unmissable.
Take the opportunity to taste lombrichelli in spicy sauce, acquacotta, soups with vegetables, crostini and bruschetta, while savouring a glass of Alta Tuscia Colli Etruschi Viterbesi or Tuscia DOC wines.