The Vie Cave of Sovana: into the corridors the Etruscans carved in the tufa

There are places in Tuscany that mass tourism never reaches, and the hamlet of Sovana, in the municipality of Sorano, is one of them. Here, in the inland Maremma, the Etruscans carved deep, narrow corridors into the tufa, the so-called Vie Cave: open-air trenches that cut through the hillside, with walls that in places rise to twenty-five metres.

Inside the Vie Cave

Walking through a Via Cava is a physical experience before it is a historical one. The light filters down from above, the air turns cool and damp, and on the tufa walls you can read the marks of different eras: the Etruscan layers higher up, the niches and symbols carved in the Middle Ages lower down. The most striking near Sovana are the Cavone, the Via Cava di San Sebastiano and that of Poggio Prisca. Sturdy shoes are essential, because wet tufa becomes slippery.

The Etruscan necropolis

The trails lead to the Etruscan necropolis of Sovana, which stretches for about a kilometre and a half along the flanks of the hills. Among cube tombs and aedicula tombs cut into the rock, the Ildebranda Tomb stands out, on the Poggio Felceto: a rare example of an Etruscan temple tomb, carved entirely from the tufa hill, with a podium and lateral steps. It takes its name from Ildebrando of Soana, the monk who became Pope Gregory VII.

The tomb is dated roughly between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and was originally clad in painted stucco, now lost owing to the fragility of the tufa. The burial chamber was found empty, plundered already in antiquity. And yet the power of the monument remains intact: you feel it in the silence of the surrounding woods, far from the crowds.

Slow travel

Sovana and Sorano are the slow answer to a Tuscany that is often too crowded. They are best visited in spring and autumn, when the heat does not bite and the woods change colour. Bring water, keep to the trails, linger in the small villages: this is how these places stay alive without being consumed.

Related guides: Little-known archaeological sites in Italy: a guide to off-the-beaten-track places · Etruscan sites and necropolises to visit: an itinerary through Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria.

Getting there

The Vie Cave lie in the Tufa Area of the Maremma, between Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano, and the most convenient way to reach them is by car: from Grosseto you head towards Saturnia and then in the direction of Sovana and Pitigliano. The area has no railway stations on site and public transport is scarce; the rail reference remains Grosseto, from which you reach Pitigliano (a few kilometres from Sovana) with a change of bus. The reference airports are those of Rome-Fiumicino and Pisa.

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