Deep in the heart of Etruscan Italy, lies this series of man-made valleys between carved volcanic boulders.

Ancient Etruscan roads: The Vie Cave are deep roads carved by the Etruscans. They are today part of the Tuff City Archaeological Park, a fascinating site between Sorano and Sovana in the southern area of Tuscany.

The Vie Cave of Sorano and Sovana are large roads carved into the tuff hills, with walls as high as more than 20 meters that lead visitors to discover Etruscan necropolis.

These roads are unique in all ancient civilizations. No one knows exactly what they were used for: were they just communication routes, or canals to collect rainwater, or roads used in some religious ceremony?

The mystery of these winding paths, carved into the tuffaceous rock, remains intact, and driving through them is a truly unique experience: they once connected the various Etruscan settlements, including necropolises.

At the end of our drive, we visited this small thermal springs park. We didn’t get into the water though, because for that we visited Saturnia thermal waters a bit later that day. I’ll be posting on that soon.

Alla prossima!