A charming village in Tuscia, Sutri has very ancient origins dating back to the Bronze Age. It reached its maximum expansion from the period of Etruscan domination. Since 2019, it has been listed among Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages (Borghi più Belli d’Italia) and has been awarded the Orange Flag by the Italian Touring Club, a prestigious mark of quality for sustainable tourism and environmental development.
Roman amphitheatre
There are many fascinating remains of the past and the civilizations over the centuries. Many treasures can be found in the extraordinary Parco Antichissima Città di Sutri, an archeological area of 7 hectares, where time seems to have stopped. Here you can admire a Roman amphitheatre completely excavated in the tuff, an Etruscan necropolis with dozens of tombs also dug into the tuff and Etruscan walls incorporated by medieval ones.
Mithraeum
A Mithraeum with mosaics and paintings from the early Christian era, then transformed into a church dating back to the Middle Ages, is dedicated to the Madonna of the Birth.
Villa Savorelli
In the Park, which includes the Mitreum, a refined residence dating back to the 18th century can be admired, Villa Savorelli, which had belonged to several Patrician families and is surrounded by an Italian garden with laurel hedges and centenary trees. Among the perfectly preserved archaeological finds we also find the splendid Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with the typical characteristics of the Romanesque style and the beautiful Cosmatesque floor.
il Sacro Bosco di Villa Savorelli – retedimorestorichelazio.it
The Savorelli compound is completed by the Sacred Grove (Sacro Bosco), a forest of centuries-old holm oaks growing at various elevations. Its fairy-tale name derives from an ancient pagan belief that envisioned woods and forests populated by nymphs, elves, and fauns—symbolic personifications of nature’s eternal capacity for renewal.
Piazza del Comune
The historic centre of Sutri is enchanting and looks like an ancient and characteristic tuff settlement. Squares, villas, churches and ancient towers are just some of the wonders that can be admired while walking peacefully in the characteristic alleys. The Piazza del Comune is the heart of the village which can be accessed through an ancient arch surmounted by a bell tower with a clock.
Ancient wash house
There is no shortage of small craft shops and an ancient wash house used in the past by the small community.
The peasant tradition of Sutri is well preserved through its gastronomic specialties. The local excellence are the beans which, according to popular legend, managed to alleviate the pain of an attack of gout to Charlemagne. During the festival the beans are served in characteristic terracotta bowls. Also worth trying are delicacies such as the queen beans, the ditalini alla militare and the hazelnut tozzetti.
Sutri is an important stop on the ancient Northern Via Francigena, the European communication route that in medieval times led pilgrims from Canterbury to Rome.