THE COUNTRYSIDE
The landscape of Tuscia is quite variegated and embraces in short distances different geological and agriculture features. Worth mentioning among the natural reserves are the Riserva naturale del lago di Vico, set in the heart of the Cimini hills, which offers one of the most beautiful scenery in Italy thanks to a rich bird life and magnificent beech forests and chestnut woods.
On the border with Tuscany extends the Riserva naturale del monte Rufeno near the town of Acquapendente. Its area is over 3,000 hectares and its elevation rises from the 200 metres of the river Paglia to the 700 metres of monte Rufeno. Included in the neighbourhood of Calcata is the Riserva valle del Treja where an old millstone gives life to a spot of original suggestion.
In the central part of Tuscia lies the enviroment of the lake Bolsena, the largest in Europe among those of volcanic origins. Bolsena, Marta and Capodimonte are picturesque fishermen villages which outlook onto the clean waters rich of eels, white fish, lattarino and perches.
Two islands stand out from the lake. The island Martana is quoted for Amalasunta, the queen of the Goths was murdered here. The island Bisentina, private property of prince del Drago who also owns a palace in Bolsena, was in the renaissance a feud of the Farnese family who commissioned to Vignola the building of a chapel. Both islands can be reached with comfortable motorboats departing from the little port of Capodimonte. On the westside, degrading to the seaside lies the maremma a stretch of land which was until the last century infested by malaria and frequented by wildboars. Nowadays the land has been drained and turned into big plantations of tobacco, potatoes, peperoni, artichokes, aubergines and beetroots.