Tuscania Nature Reserve

Historical Notes

The history of Tuscania started in the late Bronze Age. The Marta river and its tributaries attracted the first settlers in the area, who built their villages on the natural slopes formed by the erosion of the waters.
By the 7th century BC, seven settlements had been formed, as witnessed by their respective necropolises. They were situated on the heights to the south and north of today's S.Pietro hill, which became the heart of the religious life and trading activities of all neighbouring settlements, as well as of the larger territory for at least 10 km around it.
Unlike almost all ancient Etruscan centres, in Tuscania aggregation of these original villages into a single centre took place very slowly, and was accomplished towards the second half of the 4th century BC. In its first ancient phase, Tuscania certainly belonged to the territory of Tarquinia, whose cultural influence is to be noted in the frequent widespread use of ogival tombs with upper aperture or axial chamber tombs, with the columen (roof beam) shown in negative.
Once Tuscia came under the Roman rule, some time round 285 BC, and with the ensuing creation of the 'Stellatina' tribe, Tuscania found itself in an ideal situation for being chosen as the strongpoint controlling the vast territory at the centre of which it lay. This role was assisted by the upgrading of the Etruscan road which in 225 BC was upgraded to a Roman consular road, taking the name of 'Clodia'.
With the spread of Christianity, Tuscania's economic life continued to prosper. At the start of the Middle Ages, it was a flourishing diocese, whose Bishop exercised jurisdiction over a territory corresponding to the quadrangle formed by the Fiora river, Lake Bolsena, Lake Vico and the Mignone river.
A whole host of castles were built across the territory of Tuscania (Montebello, Carcarella, Canino, Civitella, Ghezzo, Tessennano, Ancarano), witness to the activity of the local lords who throughout the Middle Ages met together and fought one another incessantly. But these internecine struggles, not to mention famine and plague, reduced Tuscania in the 15th century from a flourishing city to a lesser town of the Papal State. So it was to remain with various ups and downs until 12 September 1870 when the Kingdom of Italy inherited from the Papal State this town which, albeit no longer as flourishing as in the past, could still boast of considerable economic importance.
The 'ancient' history of Tuscania terminates on 6 February 1971, at 7.07 pm: the time of the earthquake. This seismic event was a true watershed for Tuscania.