For me Tuscia was the Tuscia and just, and I used to relate it with: the province of Viterbo, a volcanic tuff's landscape, the land of the Etruscans etc. etc., Now, since I live it and often go through it, I can do a bit of clarity on this: if the Tuscia was, originally, Etruria's historic area inhabited by Etruscans, before the Romans, and it used to include the regions of: Lazio, Western Umbria and Tuscany, today we call Tuscia the southern portion of this macro-area, corresponding to Viterbo province and, in part, that of Rome.
You might have heard many terms that refer to Tuscia's sub-regions, connected to historical vicissitudes or geographical/administrative entities: Roman or Viterbese Tuscia refer to the their respective administrative belonging; Tuscia Romana, again, and Lombard Tuscia terms, refer to the ownership destiny, after Roman Empire fall, of the Region, that was contended between the Byzantines and Lombards invaders; furthermore we have the Areas of Teverina, that recur In villages names Bordering the Tiber Valley; or the Coastal Tuscia, facing the seaside; or Even the Cimina (Monti Cimini and Vico Lake), Vulsina (Bolsena Lake) and Sabatina (Bracciano and Martignano Lakes) areas, that recall the volcanic genesis of the Western/northern Lazio landscape, and even more locations names... A really remarkable "confusion"!
But if all the above mentioned parts of the Tuscia were inhabited by the Etruscans, the internal Etruria (another name!), that is the fairly narrow land strip located approximately between the ancient Cimini and Sabatini volcanic districts and the Tiber valley, was not even inhabited by the Etruscans, but by Falisci, an Italic population of uncertain origin, but in some way distinct from that of the "sea peoples": the Etruscans.
The Falisci, infact, are considered, by some, a native population, by others an Indo-european population arrived In the allocation territories through migration on north-south course, approximately along the Tyrrhenian coast, still prior to migration along the Adriatic Sea, of the Umbrian populations.
The Falisci were belonging to an ethnic-linguistic group akin and contemporary to that of the Latins, their language had strong similarities with the latin, so as to suggest a common linguistic matrix, therefore the Falisci didn't speak etruscan, although, for their proximity to the Etruscan civilization, they could not help being deeply influenced by that, and confirmations of that come from the materials recovered in archaeological excavations, which reveal a culture that can be conceived as an aspect of that of the Etruscans, with original features mostly related to the ceramics decoration.
And it's precisely the Falisco landscape that we'll initially deepen in Our Upcoming landscape "readings", walking and cycling, of course in the future we will conquer more landscapes belonging to this beautiful region, marked by volcanoes, which is called Tuscia.
The falisca Area's gravity center, where the main Falisci settlement of "Falerii Veteres" used to be located, is the territory of Civita Castellana (VT), but I do not want to anticipate anything, stay connected In the next days you will learn more about destinations, one by one. By now be content to spoil A photo gallery of some wonderful Tuscia Falisca landscapes glimpses!
PS. Move mouse on the images for captions appearance
