Top 16 Caves around Castell'Azzara

The Via Cava di San Rocco is one of the most impressive Etruscan paths in the area. The trail is entirely dug into the tuff, with vertical walls reaching up to 20 meters high, hosting lush vegetation of ferns and mosses. The route connects the Lente river valley with the plateau above. Along the ascent, you will encounter ancient water channeling systems and stairs carved into the rock. Once you reach the upper end, you arrive at the panoramic area of San Rocco, from which you can enjoy the most iconic view of the settlement of Sorano and the Orsini Fortress. The ground can be damp and slippery due to the cool microclimate of the walls.

Through a very narrow, high gorge (can be damp in spring), you finally reach this oratory via steps.

The exhibition grounds are definitely worth a visit and can be easily combined with a circular hike from Sovana.

You can also visit the excavations on a circular hike from Sorana. The €7.00 is definitely worth it for this very interesting site.

The rupestrian (cave) oratory is located at the top of the San Sebastiano via cava and consists of two irregular rooms, the walls of the chambers were engraved with many Latin crosses, including one on a small mountain that probably represents Golgotha. The oratory was almost certainly realized by using one of the many existing archaic tombs in the upper part of the via Cava, many of which are still visible. In fact, it was common for the monks and Christian hermits of the Middle Ages to take advantage of the remote location of these environments to reach the small places of worship suitable for prayer and meditation. From the various openings in the oratory you can see the wall of the via Cava and the remains of some Etruscan tombs looted in ancient times.

The Vie Cave, sometimes also called Cavoni, form a suggestive road system from the Etruscan era that connects various settlements and necropolises between Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano. They mainly develop between steep tuff rock walls, some of which exceed twenty meters in height. In Roman times, these streets became part of a road network connected to the main trunk of the Via Clodia, an ancient road that connected Rome to Saturnia, passing through the city of Tuscania and branching off from the Via Cassia in Lazio. The Via Cava di San Giuseppe is one of the most evocative in the area, as well as the longest, leading up to Pitigliano. This street is associated with the traditional torchlight procession of San Giuseppe, which is held on March 19th. The link between ancient pagan rites and the dark atmosphere along the route, which still persists today, dates back to Christian times, when small niches with painted sacred images, known as "devil chasers", were dug to protect travellers.

The Città del Tufo archaeological park opened its doors in 1998 with the aim of preserving and promoting the precious historical and cultural heritage of the tuff area. The surrounding area is enriched by monumental tombs, among which the famous Ildebranda tomb stands out, an Etruscan masterpiece carved from an imposing block of tuff to imitate the appearance of a temple from the Hellenistic age. Other fascinating tombs include the Pola tomb, those of the Typhoon, of the Winged Demons and of the Siren. The magical atmosphere of the place is further enriched by the presence of suggestive hollow streets, with the Via Cava di San Sebastiano, squeezed between walls of over 20 meters, the Via Cava di Poggio Prisca and the Cavone, on whose walls you can admire engravings from different eras, including crosses with exorcistic purposes and a large swastika, a solar symbol.

The Via Cava di San Rocco goes up the opposite side of Sorano, skirting the remains of the church of San Rocco, a religious building in Romanesque style now reduced to ruins that maintain sections of the original wall structures. Behind these remains extends a vast Etruscan necropolis with tombs dug into the tuff. The Vie Cave, dug by the Etruscans about 3000 years ago in the tuff, are still shrouded in mystery regarding the technique used to sculpt the rock so precisely and vertically. This street represents the most important of the Vie Cave around Sorano, as it guided the Etruscans to their necropolis. Incredibly, for over six centuries, from the Middle Ages until 1940, it was the only road that connected the city of Sorano to Sovana. Every horse, cart and traveler had no choice but to travel this steep, damp road between its high walls.