PORTA TIBERINA

DESCRIPTION

The connecting point between the village of Vitorchiano and the Vezza valley is the ancient Tiberina gate, built in the thirteenth century. Dug into the peperino foundations of the town, the door allowed to reach the church of San Michele Arcangelo, located in the valley below, and the whole area of ​​the Tiber valley through a tortuous path. To access the door, once in Piazza Roma, you pass through a staircase on the right of the square, opposite the majestic Palazzo Comunale. Once you have gone down the steps you will reach via della Carbonara. Probably the toponym of the street could refer to a construction practice assumed during the Middle Ages in the Viterbo area, namely that of digging large ditches equipped with palisades, called carbonaie or carbonare, to defend the city. The door in question was probably built near one of these and the street where it is located still retains the toponym. Here, after passing a source (wash house) on the left, we find ourselves in front of the door that passes under the spindle fountain in the square above. Inside the door and more precisely on the walls of the gallery, there are still several engravings, clear and direct evidence of the experience of daily life left over the centuries; see for example: the symbol of Christ or the Bernardinian monogram IHS; the greeting to the Virgin A. M .; an engraved sentence: 1713 A.D. 15 LULIO / THE INFECTION / WAS IN MESSINA / HERE THE GUARDS. All important pieces that contribute to providing information to reconstruct the history of the city. Once out of the tunnel, the foundations in peperino stone on which the town was built are visible. From here, the tortuous path begins that descends along the gorge carved by the Vezza river, where the Piagge road winds its way.

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Special thanks to Dr. Andrea Presutti for scientific advice and archival photographic material provided on Vitorchiano.