Vitorchiano

Vitorchiano is a small medieval village in the Tuscia area of northern Lazio, perched on a tufa cliff on the eastern edge of the Cimini Mountains overlooking the Vezza river valley. Its stone houses, narrow lanes, and arched gateways are built directly into the rock, giving it the nickname the "suspended village," and the historic core is built almost entirely of the local dark-grey volcanic stone called peperino. The village is recognized with the Orange Flag by the Italian Touring Club for the quality of its tourism and environmental upkeep. A notable curiosity is the Moai di Vitorchiano, a large statue carved from local peperino stone in 1990 by a delegation of sculptors from Easter Island as a symbol of friendship between the two communities — it is the only Moai outside Easter Island made using traditional Rapa Nui carving techniques.

Vitorchiano sits about 5 miles (10 minutes by car) from Viterbo, the nearest city with rail connections toward Rome. A Cotral bus links Viterbo's Porta Fiorentina FS station to Vitorchiano.

The historic core is compact and built into the rock on a pedestrian scale — walking is the practical way to see it; a car is useful for reaching it from Viterbo.

The medieval old town itself, with its peperino-stone houses, external staircases, arches, and narrow alleys, is the main sight. The Moai di Vitorchiano stands as the village's best-known curiosity.

Viterbo, with its papal palace and thermal baths, is the natural next stop, a short drive or bus ride away.