Discover Tuscania

Tuscania is a comune of 8,105 people in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio. It was called Toscanella until 1911, and the older name is still what you will find in nineteenth-century books.

Like many of its neighbours in this part of the Viterbese, it rises on tufa promontories — in this case seven — set between the river Marta and the Fosso Capecchio, dominating and controlling the Marta valley. That valley is the point: an important route of communication and transhumance which since prehistory has joined Lake Bolsena to the Tyrrhenian Sea, near present-day Tarquinia.

Its name is Roman and means what it says. The pre-Roman name is unknown; in Latin it was Tuscana, from tuscum plus the Latin predial suffix -anus indicating possession — the territory or city of the Tusci, the name the Romans gave the Etruscans.

Its strategic position gave Tuscania a leading role in the Etruscan world, and after the defeat of the coastal cities by the Greeks in the fourth century BC it also became a maritime trade centre, through the port of Regas next to today's Montalto di Castro.

And unusually for this region, it seems to have joined Rome without fighting.

Why is the town called Tuscania? The pre-Roman name is unknown. In Latin it was Tuscana, from tuscum plus the predial suffix -anus indicating possession — the territory or city of the Tusci, the Romans' name for the Etruscans.

Wasn't it called something else? Yes — Toscanella until 1911, a diminutive the town took after submitting to Rome following a failed expedition against Boniface VIII.

What are the founding legends? One, reported by Titus Annius Luscus, has Aeneas's son Ascanius founding the city where he found twelve dog pups — hence Tus-cana, cana being close to Latin canis. The other names Tusco, son of Hercules and Araxes.

How many necropoleis are there? Twelve distinct rock-cut necropoleis have been found across the territory, including those of the Scalette and the Pantacciano.

Where was the Etruscan city? On the acropolis on the hill of San Pietro, urbanised from the eighth century BC — and now outside the city's walls.

Did Rome conquer it? Apparently not. There is no record of Tuscania being involved in the battles that led to the Roman conquest of Etruscan northern Lazio in 280 BC; the city probably entered the Roman orbit peacefully. It became a municipium in 88 BC.

Did it trade by sea? Yes — after the defeat of the coastal cities by the Greeks in the fourth century BC, through the port of Regas, next to today's Montalto di Castro.

How old is the bishopric? Tuscania became one of the first bishopric sees in Italy, in the fifth century AD or earlier depending on the source. It later lost primacy to Viterbo, made a diocese in 1192.

Who built the walls? Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, after capturing the city on 2 March 1240.

Did St Francis come here? Yes, in 1222.

What should I pair it with? Tarquinia and Bolsena — the two ends of the Marta valley route that Tuscania controls.