Situated near Rome ’s border, Sutri is a town of ancient origin. The town was built around the 7th century BC, but the earliest mention goes back to the 4th century BC. At that time the Romans began to conquer all the most powerful Etruscan cities and placed Etruria under the control of Rome . Most of the funerary objects found at Sutri’s necropolis show the influence of the Etruscan-Faliscan art, and the richest funerary artefacts date from the early Etruscan period.

Anyway, Sutri reached the height of its power only after the Roman conquest. The rock-cut amphitheatre, Sutri’s most remarkable sight, was built between the 2nd andSutri.jpg (12569 byte) the 1st centuries BC. Completely hewn out of tuff rock, the amphitheatre can seat up to 3,000 people. Another important tourist attraction is the Mithraic church. Not far from the amphitheatre, the mithraeum is a grotto where the god Mithras was worshipped. The cave was reused as a Christian church in the early Middle Ages, and its he walls were painted with religious subjects dating mainly from the 15th century. Near the mithraeum there is also Villa Savorelli, a recently restored villa of the 18th century with a park called ‘the Holy Wood’. Nearby the villa are a church in the Borromini style and the ruins of a castle known as ‘Charlemagne’s castle’. The medieval town was rebuilt on a hilltop near the Cassia road, in the same area occupied by the Etruscan-Roman town. In the Middle Ages, Sutri played a major role. Some important buildings, like the Cathedral of Santa Maria with its wonderful Romanesque crypt (12th century), are there to show it.

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