Soriano nel Cimino is a small village in the Tuscia Viterbo area characterized by two different forms of urban settlement: medieval around the Orsini Castle and Renaissance.
The village seems to have been inhabited since the Palaeolithic. At the time of the Etruscans, it was a highly populated centre. The name also comes directly from the Etruscan “surus”, forest, and “ianus”, place, and therefore “wooded place“. In the oldest area there are small houses and suggestive alleys overlooking wide areas of chestnut trees.
The Church of Misericordia is undoubtedly the oldest in Soriano nel Cimino, one of the first to be built in the Middle Ages. Inside, you can admire an interesting wooden crucifix from the 1700s.
The Orsini Castle is the most representative building in the town. It was commissioned by Pope Nicolò III Orsini between the 12th and 13th centuries and in the twentieth century it was used as a prison until the 1990s. With severe and majestic architecture, it dominates the medieval village and historic centre of Soriano nel Cimino. Its first nucleus was built at the beginning of the thirteenth century. But what most characterizes the structure was its adaptation to a prison. It was the first prison of the Holy See and, only in 1871, it became a prison of the Italian State. This allowed the perfect external conservation of the structure due to the continuous maintenance works supported by the Ministry of Justice.
Chia Tower or Colle Casale Castle – Instagram @sapu_zar
The beech forest of Monte Cimino (1053 m.a.s.l.) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017. With its 57 hectares of extension, it is the largest in Central Italy. On foot, on horseback or by mountain bike, we cross the enchanted Faggeta Vetusta in Soriano nel Cimino, among gigantic 50-metre trees with trunks over one meter wide, with more than two centuries of history, or rather whisper in the silence of the woods. The chestnut is the main product in Autumn and is used for desserts, game seasoning, jams and many typical dishes.
Big Bench n. 331 a Soriano nel Cimino
And if you want to enjoy a 360° panorama of the village and the surrounding nature, sit comfortably on the Big Bench 331, the first Giant Bench in the Tuscia Viterbo area, in one of the most panoramic places in the Old Beech Forest of Mount Cimino. It can be easily reached from the SP 62, at Km 3.2, accessing the “Parco Le Vedutelle” area. From here you can walk down into the woods for about 150 metres, on a well-marked path.
Don’t miss the gnocchi al ferro, which take their name from a large knitting needle used to prepare the dough. Hazelnuts are also excellent.