Viterbo is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and Monti Volsini. The historic center of the city is surrounded by medieval walls, still intact, built during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Viterbo's historic center is one of the best preserved medieval towns of central Italy. Many of the older buildings (particularly churches) are built on top of ancient ruins, recognizable by their large stones, 50 centimeters to a side.

The main attraction of Viterbo is the Palazzo dei Papi, that served as a country residence and a repair in time of trouble in Rome. Begun as the Episcopal Palace in 1255, from 1257 on, with the arrival of Alexander IV the works were hurried and were completed in 1267 with the construction of the famous loggia, which in origin was a double one, but then the northern part collapsed under the excessive weight and has not been rebuilt ever since. The columns of the palace are spolia from a Roman temple. At the right of the Loggia begins the proper Episcopal Palace with the Sala Gualtiero(Throne Hall), the Gallery, the Library Hall, the Hall of Arms and the Appartment of the Cardinal.

The second most important monument of the city is the Cathedral of S. Lorenzo. It was erected in Romanesque style by Lombard architects over a temple of Hercules. It was variously rebuilt from the sixteenth century on, and was heavily damaged in 1944 by Allied bombs. The notable Gothic belfry is from the first half of the fourteenth century, and shows influence of Senese artists. The church houses the sarcophagus of Pope John XXI and the picture Christ Blessing by Gerolamo da Cremona (1472).

Built originally in Romanesque forms, it has been modified in the subsequent centuries. The actual front dates back to 1570, while the Gothic -Tuscan campanile with its four rows of double double-windows dates back to 1368. The three-aisled interior with the columns with magnificent capitals and the finely decorated beamed ceiling is very airy. In the nave you find the rests of a Cosmatesque pavement. In the right aisle there is a marble font of 1470 by Maestro Francesco di Ancona. In the apse of the left aisle, you find a painting of Byzantine school of approx. 1195 representing the Madonna della Carbonara, taken from the homonymous Mother Church of the Knights of the Order of Saint-John-of-Jerusalem, and remains of frescoes of 1290. Past the entrance to the Baroque furnished sacristy, there is a painting ascribed to the Mantegna("Il Salvatore", 1472) and towards the exit, remains of 14th century frescoes and the tomb of John XXI, died tragically in Viterbo in 1277 and mentioned by Dante in his Paradise. John XXI has been by the way the only Portuguese Pope in history.

The Museo Civico (City Museum) houses many archeological specimens from the pre-historical to Roman times, plus a Pinacoteca (gallery) with paintings of Sebastiano del Piombo, Antoniazzo Romano, Salvator Rosa, Antiveduto Grammatica and others.

Rocca Albornoz, also called Rocca del Papa, greatly destroyed by the bombings in 1944 and since then renovated, the imposing building had been erected by Cardinal Albornoz, who died in Viterbo in 1367. The Rocca Albornoz houses the Museo Nazionale and a great permanent exhibition on the Etruscan and domestic architecture.

The Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista in Zoccoli was built in the 11th century, because of the poverty of the parish, it has not been modified substantially. The front which leans on two perpendicular arches, is rather characteristic. It has a 16th century portal with a painted lunette and a beautiful rose-window. In the interior, there are various frescoes and a precious polyptych of 1441 by the Viterbese painter Francesco d'Antonio, called the Balletta.

Map and index of the monuments in Viterbo
Events
The transport of the Macchina di Santa Rosa takes place every year, on September 3, at 9 o'clock in the evening. The Macchina is an artistic illuminated bell-tower with an imposing height of 30 m. It weighs between 3.5 and 5 tonnes and is made of iron, wood and papier-mâché. At the top of the tower, the statue of the Patron Saint is enthusiastically acclaimed by the people in the streets of the town centre, where lights are turned off for the occasion.

One hundred Viterbesi men (known as the Facchini) carry the Macchina from Porta Romana through the major streets of Viterbo, concluding with a strenuous ascension up to the Piazza di Santa Rosa, its final resting place. Each Macchina has a life span of five years, after which a new one is built.

Festival Barocco
Throughout the years what was once a small chamber music festival has grown and blossomed into a top-class event that spreads over the whole Tuscia region from mid-summer well into the autumn. Concerts take place in Tuscania, in Montalto di Castro, in Celleno’s Castello Orsini, in the Duomo di Nepi, in the church of St Francis in Capranica, in the church of St Flaviano in Montefiascone, and of course, in various Viterbo venues.

Celleno is located in the eastern part of the Tuscia area of Viterbo. The old village lays on a 476-metres-high green hill on which you can notice a fascinating medieval castle, Castello Orsini. Also in Celleno you can visit the medieval abbey and church rich in artistic masterpieces.
The little church of San Rocco holds several eighteenth-century canvases (Our Lady of the Rosary and a Crucifixion) and a fifteenth century wooden crucifix.

CHIESA S. MARIA DEL SOCCORSO, detta Chiesola"

Dionisio D'alincarnasso maintained that Celleno was built a long time ago before ancient Rome's foundation by Italo in memory of his daughter Cilenia. Anyway the oldest findings which were brought to the open in Celleno were an arrow point and a stone axe found in an area called "Chiesola".

Comune