Pitigliano

Pitigliano stands on a spur of volcanic tufa above two gorges, and the houses are built directly from and onto the cliff so the town and rock read as one mass, best seen from the approach road. Jews expelled from the Papal States settled here from the sixteenth century under the Orsini and later Medici, and the community grew large enough that the town was called Little Jerusalem; the 1598 synagogue survives with a ritual bath, kosher bakery, dyeing works and cellars cut into the tufa below, restored and open. Cellars and stables run deep into the rock across the town, and an aqueduct arcade crosses the approach.

History

The area was lived in by the Etruscans, but the first written mention of Pitigliano dates only from 1061. It belonged to the Aldobrandeschi in the early 13th century, passed to the Orsini in 1293 and was ceded to Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici in 1604; for centuries it was a frontier town between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal States, and its synagogue was built in 1598 (Wikipedia, Pitigliano).

What you'll find

• The cliff town - houses rising directly out of the tufa spur.
• The Little Jerusalem quarter - synagogue, mikvah, bakery and rock cellars.
• The aqueduct - a sixteenth-century arcade crossing the approach.
• The tufa cellars - stores and stables cut deep into the rock.

When to go

April to October; the approach view is best in morning or late light. Winter is quiet with reduced opening. Summer heat in the gorge is heavy.

Before you go

The town is steep with stepped lanes and awkward parking outside. The Jewish quarter is small and visited quickly. Some sunken roads nearby need proper shoes.

Nearby

Sorano lies north; Sovana is close.

Key facts