Northern Lazio

D.H. Lawrence had pretty much the last word on the plain, low hills stretching north from Rome towards the Tuscan border, describing the landscape as “lifeless looking … as if it had given up its last gasp and was now forever inert.” His Etruscan Places, published in 1932, is one of the best introductions to this pre-Roman civilization and its cities, which, one or two beaches excepted, are the main reasons for venturing out here.

CERVETERI provides the most accessible Etruscan taster. The settlement here dates back to the tenth century BC. Once known as Caere, it ranked among the top three cities in the twelve-strong Etruscan federation, its wealth derived largely from the mineral-rich Tolfa hills to the northeast – a gentle range that gives the plain a much-needed touch of scenic colour. In its heyday, the town spread over 150 hectares (something like thirty times its present size), controlling territory 50km up the coast. By the third century BC, Caere was under Roman control, leading to the decline of Etruscan culture in the region.

Second only to Cerveteri among northern Lazio’s Etruscan sites, TARQUINIA is both an evocative site and pleasant town, its partial walls and crop of medieval towers making it a good place to pass an afternoon after seeing the ruins. Its museum is also the region’s finest outside Rome.

The closest of northern Lazio’s lakes to Rome, Lago di Bracciano fills an enormous volcanic crater, a smooth, roughly circular expanse of water that’s popular – but not too popular – with Romans keen to escape the city’s summer heat. It’s nothing spectacular, with few real sights and a landscape of rather plain, rolling countryside, but its shores are fairly peaceful even on summer Sundays, and you can eat excellent lake fish in its restaurants. The lake’s main settlement is BRACCIANO on the western shore, a small town that was catapulted into the news when Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married here in 2006.

The best place to swim in the lake is from the beach at Lungolago Argenti, a ten-minute walk along Via del Lago from Bracciano Town. You can rent a boat and picnic on the beach – or eat in one of the nearby restaurants.

The smallest of northern Lazio’s lakes is the only one deemed worthy of nature-reserve status. LAGO DI VICO is a former volcanic crater ringed by mountains, the highest of which, Monte Fogliano, rises to 963m on the western shore. The Via Cimina traverses the summit ridges and is a popular scenic drive, dotted with restaurants, but there’s a quieter road (closed to cars) near the shoreline, and lovely spots to swim from, with small beaches.

The capital of its province, and indeed of northern Lazio as a whole, VITERBO is easily the region’s most historic centre, a medieval town which, during the thirteenth century, was once something of a rival to Rome. It was, for a time, the residence of popes, a succession of whom relocated here after friction in the capital, and today there are some vestiges of its vanquished prestige – a handful of grand palaces and medieval churches, enclosed by an intact set of walls. The town is a well-kept place and refreshingly untouched by much tourist traffic; buses and trains run frequently to Rome and you can comfortably see the town in a day, but it makes the best base for seeing the rest of northern Lazio.

North along the Via Cassia from Viterbo, LAGO DI BOLSENA is a popular destination, though rarely overcrowded; its western shore is better for camping rough, and more picturesque into the bargain. On the northern shore of the lake, BOLSENA is the main focus, a relaxed and likeable place that’s worth a brief stop. The town itself is set back from the water, around the main square, Piazza Matteotti, off which run medieval nooks and alleyways to the deconsecrated thirteenth-century church of San Francesco, which occasionally hosts concerts and exhibitions. The adjacent sixteenth-century portal is the entrance to the medieval borgo, with the well-preserved thirteenth-century Monaldeschi castle perched over its western end. Inside is the local museum, with modest displays on underwater archeology and Villanovan and Etruscan finds, plus stunning views from the ramparts. East of Piazza Matteotti, the twelfth-century basilica of Santa Cristina conceals a good Romanesque interior behind a wide Renaissance facade added in 1494. Cristina, daughter of the town’s third-century Roman prefect, was tortured by her father for her Christian beliefs, eventually being thrown into the lake with a stone round her neck. Miraculously the rock floated, though Cristina was martyred soon after. Adjoining the chapel is the Grotta di Santa Cristina, once part of early Christian catacombs.

There’s a nice stretch of free beach by the Naiardi hotel, about 750m north of the main town.