SUTRI

by Mauro Scarpati

History

Sutri is a little town 50 kilometres far from Rome, famous for its roman and etruscan remains that testify the antiquity of the human settlement in this area of Lazio; likley since the bronze age there were people here, but it's during the etruscan period the city became a rich and politically important center, being on the trade routes of the centre of Italy; of course the city got farmers and artisans to work there, while the city was up to an hill for defensive reasons, as all the other etruscan cities.

The city had political agreements with the other etruscan cities; being so close to Rome, that meant to stay in a continuous state of war; in fact, during the siege of Veio, the first etruscan city conquered by the romans in 396, soldiers from Sutri were on the Veio's wall; few years later, in 383 b.C., was the Sutri turn to become part of the roman territory.

During all the Roman period Sutri was a faithful city, with all the privilegies of the cities conquered since the olden times. 

After the fall of the roman Empire, Sutri came back to its old life, being for centuries a quite farm city, helped by the closeness with the Via Francigena, the street the pilgrims had to walk coming from French to the Roman churces; of course the pilgrims needed places to sleep and to eat, that's why in the middle age lot of cities were born close to that street.

We know for instance that Charles Magne, the French King, passed here; one of the prides of the city was to have had here the election of a pope, Clemens the II in 1046 (in those years in Rome to get the power was not that sure, considering that in that year 1046 there has been thrre different popes, everyone with his supporters and his armies…)

During the second half of the middle age Sutri remained a sleepy city, inhabited by not more than one thousand people in its golden periods: that's the reason why we still can see a quite well preserved medieval city, to give you a nice day in the countryside of Rome (out of the traffic and the stress).


Something to see

The highlights of Sutri are all out of the city: coming from Rome, one kilometer before, there is one of the most important archaeological remains of Italy, the amphiteathre of Sutri: it was a stadium with around 3.000 seats, and it's perfectly conserved, just the visit to thisa real treasure worths the trip; all around the stadium there are the caves of the etruscan cemeteries, the necropoli, the "city of the deads"; the graves were carved into the tufa bedrock, so from the street you will see lots of holes, someone little, someone a real cave; it is possible to get into the graves, being them in a sort of archaeological park all around the amphiteathre. 

An absolute highlight is the wiew of the amphiteathre from the terrace of Villa Savorelli, a villa of the XVI century that is going to became the public museum of Sutri (maybe at the beginning of 2002); the villa, up to a little hill, shows you the stadium from the high, giving a wonderful idea of how the public could see a match at those times. 

On the way from the graves to the villa you could see also the Mitreo: is a church of the V century a.C., carved into the tufa; the name comes from an hypotesis: maybe the church was a fromer temple of Mitra, a god really popular in the II-III century b.C. among the low-classes and the soldiers (lots of mitreum are still visible in Rome, as the one in the Caracalla Baths or in the undergrounds of the San Clemente church), and then it has been trasformed in a christian church in the V century. It could be, but wat is worthy for us is that the church is truly evocative. 

After all this, you could enter into the city thru the medieval main gate; look: the street you are crossing is a roman street named Cassia, used since the III century b.C.; the street became the Via Francigena during the Middle Age, having the same path; and even so far, also if it's covered with asphalt, it's the same good old street; into the city you could just walk in the historic center, having a drink in one of the numerous bars with outside tables; then look for the Duomo, the main church. 

To be honest, the Duomo is not a beauty: the recent repairs covered the original stone-colour with an ugly white, breaking the harmony of the little square where the Duomo is; inside is such a pretty baroque church; while the real goal is the crypt, a typical medieval crypt with columns and some blind rooms really scarey (specially if someone switchs the light off when you are down there, as it happened to me the last time I was in with a class of italian students, could you imagine the chaos? No, I don't think you can!) 

Suggestions 

As in all the little italian cities, some periods are better than others to go in Sutri, because of some popular feasts, the real authentic spirit of Italy.


MEDIEVAL DAYS - July 
Two weeks in July where all the city came back to the middle age, with fantastic fancy-dress an the typical "medieval cuisine"

THE SAGRA (Feast) OF THE BEAN - September, 22
All about the famous legume, cooked in lot of ways; if you want to catch my suggestion, once in a life you have to see something like that!


THE LIVING PRESEPE (CRIP) - December 25/26
A living popular theatre inside the Mitreum, such a suggestive religious ceremony. 6 in January the "Befana" enters in the narrow historic center street.


Hot to get there:

Sutri is at the 52 kilometre along the Via Cassia; it's easy to get there with the highway A1 to Florence (FIRENZE), at the exit "Magliano Sabina". 

If you prefer the Via Cassia, look for the Grande Raccordo Anulare (G.R.A., the highway surrounding Rome), fourth exit "Cassia V." (16° km; don't make a mistake thru the third exit "Cassia" exit: it's longer and with more traffic); during the trip you can deviate on your right to Calcata, another real little medieval city, sort of "living museum" in a wonderful natural spot.

The closer train stops at Capranica, 5 kilometres far from Sutri.