Sovana

Sovana is a small hill town in the Tuscan Maremma, in Grosseto province, built on tuff rock and surrounded by one of the region's most significant concentrations of Etruscan remains. The necropolis just south of town includes rock-cut tombs dating from at least the 7th–6th century BC, most notably the Tomba Ildebranda, and is threaded by "vie cave" — deep roads cut directly into the tuff, some running over a kilometre with walls more than 20 metres high, whose original purpose (transport, drainage, or ritual) is still debated. Sovana is also the birthplace of Ildebrando di Sovana, who became Pope Gregory VII in 1073, one of the medieval papacy's most influential reformers; the town's Romanesque cathedral was begun under his sponsorship.

Sovana is reached by road from the nearby town of Sorano and the wider Maremma.

The small historic centre is walked easily on foot; a car is useful for reaching the necropolis and vie cave in the surrounding countryside.

The Etruscan necropolis and its vie cave (including the Via Cava del Cavone and Via Cava di San Sebastiano), the Tomba Ildebranda, and the Romanesque cathedral associated with Pope Gregory VII are the main sights.

Walking the vie cave and touring the necropolis are the town's principal activities.

Sorano and Pitigliano, both nearby tuff-built hill towns with their own vie cave and Etruscan remains, are natural next stops.