Pitigliano

The town is perched on a steep tuff rock, 313 metres above sea-level. The area of Pitigliano and far to the south of Rome is characterised by tuff stone, a hardened type of volcanic magma.

The characteristic historical centre is known as the little Jerusalem due to the historical presence of a Jewish community that has always been well integrated into the social context that has its own synagogue here.

• 🌍 Pitigliano Cathedral, Piazza San Gregorio. 18th-century Catholic church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. 
• Medici aqueduct, built starting from the middle of the 16th century, was completed only in the following century when Pitigliano had already passed under the domination of the Medici.
• Fontana delle Sette cannelle, a characteristic fountain built around the middle of the 16th century, closes the southern side of Piazza della Repubblica.
• 🌍 Palazzo Orsini, Piazza Fortezza Orsini, 25, ☏ +39 338 913 4979. An imposing fortified palace, built as a fortress by the Aldobrandeschi (11th-12th century) and then the seat of the Orsini county. The complex houses the homonymous diocesan museum, rich in works of art that cover a period of time from the Middle Ages to the modern age, and the archaeological civic museum, where various finds from the nearby archaeological areas are kept. (updated Sep 2022)

• Vie Cave (Cavoni, or excavated roads). An Etruscan road network that partly link an Etruscan necropolis and several settlements in the area between Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano. They consist mainly of trenches of variable width and length, excavated as nearly vertical cliffs in different types of bedrock, sometimes over 20 m high. The purpose of the cuts is not known: the main theories are that they were defense system against invaders, roads, quarries, or water conveyance schemes. Around Sovana, the Vie Cave wind around and towards the archaeological area of that town, then reconnecting with those from Sorano and Pitigliano. The main Vie Cave are Il Cavone, the Via Cava di San Sebastiano and the Via Cava of Poggio Prisca. (updated Nov 2022)

Try the Sfratto (Eviction in English) is a traditional Jewish dessert, typical of Pitigliano area, made with walnuts and honey. Its name originates from the history of the Jewish community of Pitigliano which recalls the local custom of knocking on the door of the Jews with a stick, a custom that dates back to the seventeenth century, when the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de 'Medici had an edict with which he ordered the Jews of the Pitigliano, Sovana, and Sorano areas to leave their homes to move to the Pitigliano ghetto.

A century later, the Jews of Pitigliano created this dessert to commemorate the event of the messengers who, knocking on the doors of the Jews, had ordered them to leave them. In fact, the eviction has an elongated shape, similar to a stick, and contains a filling consisting of honey, orange peel, walnuts, anise and nutmeg, which give it a sweet flavor and an intense aroma. Since these ingredients were also used in previous centuries by indigenous peoples, it is possible that the eviction draws on an ancient Etruscan recipe.

Try the local white wine, Bianco di Pitigliano.

• Not far from Pitigliano is Lake Bolsena, a huge water-filled crater and the largest Italian lake.
• On the way to Siena there is the Mount Amiata, an isolated volcano 1738 m high, and a favourite skiing area in winter.
• The Maremma coast 50 km from Pitigliano has beautiful beaches that are hardly developed.