[Viterbo 2023] 4K Walking Tour | Italy Lazio| the City of the Popes

Viterbo: This 4K walking tour video is filmed in Mar 2023. The temperature of that day is 16°C. Below you may find the story of this place. Hope you will enjoy the video!

Viterbo, located in the north of Lazio, is the main center of the historical region of Tuscia. The first settlements in the area on which today's city stands date back to the Neolithic age and probably already in Etruscan times, in the area known as "Colle del Duomo", there was an “arce” (fortress) protected by a wall. From the Etruscan age, during which in all probability the center was a “lucumonia” of Tarquinia, a series of chamber tombs are still clearly visible on the slopes of the hill on which the old city stands. Following the Roman conquest in 310 B.C., a military settlement called “Castrum Herculis” was built due to the presence in the area of ​​a temple believed to be dedicated to Hercules, from which the lion, symbol of Viterbo, derives. In Roman times, the center saw the creation of new fortified colonies, together with the construction of new roads and the expansion of pre-existing ones, as well as a general improvement of the surrounding agricultural land.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Viterbo was disputed between the Byzantines and the Lombards before the latter occupied it definitively, making it an important castrum, so much so that it was used by King Desiderius, in 773, as a stronghold from which to attack the Roman duchy. In the 12th century, the city started not only an important urban consolidation which culminated with the beginning of the construction of the imposing city walls, but also an energetic military expansion which, in 1172, led to the destruction and conquest of the ancient city of Ferento. Subsequently, in 1192, the city was awarded the title of bishop and the church of San Lorenzo elevated to a cathedral. Viterbo experienced its moment of maximum splendor in the XIII century especially following the transfer, right within its walls, of the papal court, which took place in 1257 at the behest of Alexander IV. It was precisely thanks to the latter that the construction of the Palazzo dei Papi was started, which was then completed by the successive popes, in particular by Clement IV. Following the latter's death, the first conclave in the history of Christianity took place in Viterbo. The cardinals summoned for the election, lined up in two opposing factions (pro-French and pro-Italian), took almost three years to elect the new Pope Tebaldo Visconti, who ascended the papal throne with the name of Gregory X. It was the same Gregory X, during the Second Council of Lyons (1274), to promulgate the apostolic constitution "Ubi Periculum" in which the rule of pontifical election was substantially ratified according to the modalities adopted during the Viterbo election. Subsequently, with the election of Pope Martin IV on 22 February 1281, it was decided to transfer the papal seat to Orvieto, not before Viterbo itself was interdicted. From that moment on the popes no longer came to reside in the city, even if various popes would later stay there, sometimes even for quite long periods.
From the end of the 16th century the city followed the vicissitudes of the State of the Church and gradually lost the prestige and political importance it had had during the Middle Ages.
After ups and downs, on September 12, 1870, Viterbo officially became part of the Kingdom of Italy. Today the city is one of the most visited in central Italy thanks to its many attractions including the aforementioned Palazzo dei Papi, the thermal baths, the cathedral of San Lorenzo, the underground Viterbo, the Palazzo dei Priori and the medieval district of San Pellegrino. The city is also home to the University of Tuscia and hosts, in the summer, the “Caffeine Festival”, a prestigious cultural event with the presence, every year, of important Italian and international artists and cultural figures.

See more videos:
[Tuscania 2023] Italy 4K Walking Tour:    • [Tuscania 2023] Italy 4K Walking Tour  
[Ghost Towns] 4K Italy Walking Tour Stazzano Vecchio:    • [Ghost Towns] 4K Italy Walking Tour |...  
[San Galgano] 4K Drone/ Walking tour| 13th-Centry Abbey in Tuscany Italy:    • [San Galgano] 4K Drone/ Walking tour|...  
[Siena 2023] 4K Walking Tour| Italy| Siena at sunset:    • [Siena 2023] 4K Walking Tour| Italy| ...