After leaving Pitigliano we arrived in Sovana. This beautiful place was already populated in 1000 BC and still presents itself to visiters with signs of all cenutries. This is the ruin of the castle Rocca Aldobrandesca which was built in the 11th century.

The beautiful artistic fishbone brick pave dates back to the middle ages.

Here we have me... Not such a good photo this time :D

We got some cool drinks and a cherry cake in a little shop there. Those cakes are pretty cheap but very tasty. They give a lot of energy to go on hiking with heaps of sugar.

We visited the 14th century church Chiesa di Santa Maria and I took some pictures -of course without flash. That is why the quality is not so good.

I really like the bright colours used in the fresco. I think it is supposed to show god but I am not sure.

I always wonder if Jesus would have liked the way he is portrayed by his followers...

This figure of mother Mary touched my heart. Such a great piece of art. I love the expression of the face and the hands.

Coming out of the church we realized something remarkable.

The walls hosted lots of pigeons. Looks like the cooperation between people and animals works here.

Here we go with passway photographs. The ones of you who read my previous articles know that I really fell in love with the architecture I saw in Italy. All those charming little corners with so many details to discover.

Today about 150 people live in Sovana, so it is very calm and nice. During the day tourists come for a visit but the place still keeps its silent and almost sacred atmosphere.

Looks like a gate to heaven or something like that...

Some beautiful artwork I discovered next to one of the houses.

But no matter how charming a place is: Sooner or later you have to go on and continue hiking.

There are a lot of Etruscan grave caves in the area surrounding Sovana. We did not visit them for we wanted to head further. Our backpacks were heavy and we wanted to find a nice place to sleep. In the end we did, but this will be told in the next story...

While hiking we could enjoy the beautiful landscape and the fresh grassy-leavy smell of the area.

I think the walls of this street also date back to Etruscan times. I am not sure but when I visited some Etruscan grave close to Rome a few years before they were digged in the stone in a similar style. Nice place, uncomfortable for hitchhiking though, because you have to be very aware all the time if a car is coming from behind. Not only to stop it, but to not cause an accident too.

This was the next church we passed by while hiking out of Sovana. We met nice people there who we already had a capuccino with in Sovana. They were doing kind of the same tour.

I love old stone buildings. They have such a magical atmosphere.

After quite a long hike all the way down a valley and up some hills and down again we got picked up by a nice guy who told us a lot about the history of the places. We asked him where he would recommend us to stay. He told us that on his way there was a place that was visited by the hippies in the 60s a lot and that he loved.

On the way there we had a break and I quickly visited a nice church there and took some shots of the art.

Beautiful... but the way her eyes look upwards... hm... seems like some kind of trance ecstacy?

Okay, this is a bit creepy, isn't it? Great artwork though. But not the thing I would like to look at while praying. Well, that is a decision of taste, I guess :) Somehow this reminds me of the fairtale of Snowwhite.

This is a picture from outside again. Next stop: Saturnia. If you have not heard about the place yet, I promise that you will want to visit it after my next post ;) Thank you so much for reading and your support. If you would like to read the other articles of this jounrey check out the links below.

The way to Ostia - 1
Ostia Antica -1.1
Bracciano -2
Viterbo -3
Tuscania -4
Lago di Bolsena -5
Pitigliano Part 1 -6
Pitigliano Part 2 -7

Lots of Love and Light <3