As in the whole of the Italian territory in Tuscia too there are numerous places where miraculous and cult events created buildings of particular historical-artistic interest, still venerated and present in the province of Viterbo. Among the most important will be the visit to the Sanctuary of Madonna della Quercia. Located in the homonymous suburb of Viterbo, it is one of the most important places of worship of the capital. Here, every year, the Pact of Love with the Virgin Mary is renewed in memory of her miraculous intercession made in 1467, when she saved the Viterbesi and the inhabitants of the Tuscia from the plague. Since then, every year on September 10th the representatives of the Confraternities throughout Lazio come to the Shrine to bring a solemn procession to lifeand to thank the Virgin of that miracle. Inside there are: the miraculous tile with the representation of the Madonna of the Quercia, preserved in a precious marble temple, by Matteo Bregno, and the Museum of the Ex Vote, a collection of objects and votive tablets dating from the late fifteenth century onwards.
Viterbo. Madonna della Quercia
The most intense and spectacular religious event in the capital is held on 3 September, on the eve of the day dedicated to the anniversary of the patron saint: Rosa da Viterbo who in the thirteenth century led the Viterbesi in the revolt against Frederick II.
Still following an ancient tradition, from the early seventeenth century, the transport of the Macchina di Santa Rosa is repeated every year . A canopy, almost 30 meters high, carried through the streets of the city on the shoulders of roughly 100 men, called "Facchini di Santa Rosa", on whose top is placed the statue of the saint. Furthermore, you can visit the sanctuary dedicated to her, which still preserves her uncorrupted 800 years old body, and her birthplace too can be visited.
Viterbo. Macchina di Santa Rosa
One of the richest places of sacredness of the territory is undoubtedly the sanctuary of Santa Maria ad Rupes (8th-11th century) in Castel Sant'Elia. the Suppentonia Valley that opens between Nepi and Civita Castellana in one scenario of steep tufaceous walls, housing a cave from 1777 a sixteenth century canvas of the Virgin with the Child. Since then the place has been gathering tourists and devotees from all over the world.
The Mariana cave is connected to the church with the access plateau through 144 steps excavated in the tuff.
The reputation of holiness for Marian devotion reached its maximum reflection when May 17 1896 the Vatican Chapter granted the solemn coronation of the image, and in 1912 S. Pius X elevated the sanctuary to the dignity of Minor Basilica.
A separate charm instead covers the catacombs of the Tuscia viterbese, which constitute a source of primary information not only for the history of primitive Christianity, but also for knowledge in late antiquity and in the early Middle Ages.
In Soriano nel Cimino we find the church and the catacombs of Sant'Eutizio, dedicated to the Saint who was a victim of a martyrdom at the time of Diocletian.
In Nepi we find the catacombs of Santa Savinilla, considered one of the largest and most important funerary complexes of central Italy, precisely for its monumentality. And finally in Bolsena we find the catacombs of Santa Cristina, located near the famous altar of the Eucharistic Miracle.
In this regard it is be important to remember the monumental complex of Santa Cristina di Bolsena which in 1263 was the theater where the Eucharistic Miracle took place, and from which it originated from 1264, extended to the whole the Church, the solemnity of Corpus Domini, today recalled here with a procession that unfolds in the historic center on a very long carpet of colorful flowers. In the place where the martyred saint was buried in the days of Diocletian, today we can visit the altar of the Eucharistic Miracle, the churches dedicated to the saint and the catacombs beforehand mentioned.
Bolsena. Santa Cristina
Montefiascone overlooks Lake Bolsena, where you can admire the charming church of San Flaviano (11th-12th century). And on the lake there is a place of sacredness linked to the Virgin. In Marta, the Cave of the apparitions, where since May 19, 1948, several appearances of the Saint Virgin Mary occurred. Despite decades gone by, the apparitions of the Virgin still manage to attract people from most of Viterbo and not only for their devotion.
In Marta, we also find the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte, where every year on May 14th concludes the folkloristic - religious event of the Barabbata, a picturesque procession of devotion gifts to the Virgin.
Marta. Madonna del Monte
Finally, we reach Civita di Bagnoregio, also famous for being the birthplace of San Bonaventura, philosopher and writer, minister of the Franciscan Order. Here in the Christmas period there is a suggestive representation of the Nativity. Also worthy of note are the other live nativity scenes in Corchiano and Bassano in Teverina.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Ruscello and the Church of the Madonna della Pieve are also of particular interest in Vallerano (XI century). In Gallese, erected on the cave where the Saint was buried, the church of San Famiano (12th century)can be visited. In the city of Tarquinia there is a particular religious interest Sea procession that takes place every year on August 15th. Of particular suggestion to Tuscania the Good Friday procession with the hooded penitents with chains on the feet, as well as the others processions that take place in the other centers of Bagnaia, Vetriolo and Orte. Moving to Acquapendente we find the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulcher (XI century). Here on the third Sunday of May on the occasion of the recurrence of the Madonna del Fiore, the procession of the Pugnaloni, paintings made with petals of flowers leaves and herbs, in memory of the expulsion of Frederick Barbarossa.
