The Vie Cave, also called "cut", are a little-known Etruscan creation.
They constitute an impressive road network linking the Etruscan necropolis and several settlements in the area between Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano (province of Grosseto, Southern Tuscany).
These fascinating paths roads, dug open in the hills of tufa, have no comparisons in other civilizations of the ancient world. And for this have been made numerous assumptions as to their real function: channel to direct rain water from the uplands to the valleys, simple lines of communication, strategic steps designed against the enemy, ceremonial paths, and so on ...
Within the Archaeological Park “Città del Tufo”, the Vie Cave of Sorano and Sovana lead the visitor to discover the Etruscan necropolis. Walking through the "cut" between the tufa walls as high as more than twenty meters in height is a feeling impossible to describe.
The use of these "shortcuts" has persisted until fairly recently, and today the Vie Cave continue to be traveled by hikers and visitors who are fascinated by the impressive size and by a unique natural environment. For this reason we have to keep in mind the important role that the Vie Cave play from the perspective of ecological environment. The special climatic and environmental conditions that developed in these pathways, have resulted in a microclimate that favors the growth of plants typical of damp and shady. Along the Vie Cave is possible to find so many types of ferns and, along the closer paths, the steep walls are almost entirely covered with mosses and lichens, which give an indirect reflection of the green shaded areas of cavoni. A very frequent species consists of the ivy, which wrapped the stems of the plants present at the edges of the cut and, at times falling within the paths together with lianas, enhance the beauty of the place.
This is the map of Tuscany with a close-up of Pitigliano area's geology
The Via Cava of Fratenuti
This is me in the middle of Via Cava of Fratenuti
They constitute an impressive road network linking the Etruscan necropolis and several settlements in the area between Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano (province of Grosseto, Southern Tuscany).
These fascinating paths roads, dug open in the hills of tufa, have no comparisons in other civilizations of the ancient world. And for this have been made numerous assumptions as to their real function: channel to direct rain water from the uplands to the valleys, simple lines of communication, strategic steps designed against the enemy, ceremonial paths, and so on ...
Within the Archaeological Park “Città del Tufo”, the Vie Cave of Sorano and Sovana lead the visitor to discover the Etruscan necropolis. Walking through the "cut" between the tufa walls as high as more than twenty meters in height is a feeling impossible to describe.
The use of these "shortcuts" has persisted until fairly recently, and today the Vie Cave continue to be traveled by hikers and visitors who are fascinated by the impressive size and by a unique natural environment. For this reason we have to keep in mind the important role that the Vie Cave play from the perspective of ecological environment. The special climatic and environmental conditions that developed in these pathways, have resulted in a microclimate that favors the growth of plants typical of damp and shady. Along the Vie Cave is possible to find so many types of ferns and, along the closer paths, the steep walls are almost entirely covered with mosses and lichens, which give an indirect reflection of the green shaded areas of cavoni. A very frequent species consists of the ivy, which wrapped the stems of the plants present at the edges of the cut and, at times falling within the paths together with lianas, enhance the beauty of the place.
This is the map of Tuscany with a close-up of Pitigliano area's geology
This is me in the middle of Via Cava of Fratenuti
