I saw recently that Tuscany has a town of cave dwellings similar to Matera in Basilicata. Since we were going to be in the area, we thought to would be a good idea to investigate.
Like several towns in southern Tuscany, Sorano is built on top of a tufa plug, porous volcanic rock. On the way to Sorano we passed spectacular Pitigliano on its ridge of tufa.
Sorano is more compact that Pitigliano, but impressive nonetheless. From the edge of town the Masso Leopoldino dominates. It is a defensive outpost built in medieval times by Gran Duke Leopold and restored more recently.
We headed into the centre and found a map of the city. There is a castle high above the town, Orsini Castle, built in the 14th century and renovated by Nicolo Orsini in 1552. It is considered one of the most important examples of Renaissance military architecture.
We didn’t go there. Instead we walked through the town towards Masso Leopoldino, the curved structure in the above photos.
We entered the historical part of Sorano through an old arched portal.
The streets are narrow, with tiny laneways and steps going up and down.
We took the high road towards the historical centre.
It would be a serious challenge living in some of these old homes.
We walked uphill to the Masso Leopoldino. There is a good view of the castle from here.
We got to the top to discover that the gate to the panoramic terrace on the top of Masso Leopoldino was firmly closed. Of course we only found this after climbing more stairs.
From the terrace below Masso Leopoldino we could see caves dug into the surrounding tufa cliffs.
We walked down the Via Archetto della Rocco Vecchio, a very interesting part of the town.
Some of the houses are still lived in and well cared for and there are crumbling remnants of ancient homes, some clearly dug into the tufa.
From various vantage points we could see cave homes dug in to the sides of the cliffs. It must have been a difficult way to live.
Even letterboxes are dug into the tufa.
We had a final look at dramatic Sorano on our way out of town.
Sorano didn’t really remind me of Matera, but it has a fascination of its own, and is well worth a visit.