Casale la Quercia
Casale La Quercia
località le Valli, Cura di Vetralla (VT)
info@casalelaquercia.it
Vitorchiano
“Surrounded by nature, Vitorchiano is a mediaeval village perched on a rocky bank,
overlooking deep ditches carved by rivers...”
Vitorchiano is located at the foot of the Cimini Mountains, surrounded by the verdant Vezza valley. The ancient village, known for its activities related to the extraction and processing of peperino, lies on a tuff bank of volcanic origin. Vitorchiano is a centre rich in history and millenary traditions. Its favourable position, on a spur of rock surrounded on three sides by ditches and deep ravines, makes its ancient village one of the most spectacular and significant examples of fortified centres in Tuscia. The village and its colour are so special that Mario Monicelli, the great director of unforgettable films, chose it to shoot scenes from ‘L’armata Brancaleone’, a highly original and entertaining 1966 film.
Few people know that Vitorchiano is home to the only Moai (the Easter Island sculptures) in existence outside the island. After careful research, it was discovered that the lava stone most similar to the original one is precisely the peperino of Vitorchiano: thus 11 indigenous Maori people created the monolith in human likeness, similar to the original, 6 metres high, which from afar ‘protects’ the village of Vitorchiano, as well as its inhabitants and the visitors.
(25 min from Casale la Quercia)