When your neck aches from staring up at Michelangelo's creations on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and when your head starts to spin from trying to take in too much of Rome's splendours, it might be a good time to catch the slow train to Viterbo.
The city is about 100km north of the Italian capital, and spending a day or two there could provide a pleasant break. It is what the popes once did when the chaos of Roman life became too much. They repaired there for substantially longer periods, though.
In the Middle Ages it was also a favourite stop-over for pilgrims to Rome. Visitors used to describe it as the city of beautiful fountains and beautiful women. It is still so.
Like most of Italy, Viterbo is not without historical significance. There was a time during the Middle Ages when it was larger and more successful than Rome, due largely to its status as the papal residence. But it has remained a city of only about 70 000 people, and its attractions are far more contained and less overwhelming than those of the Eternal City.
There also is a regular bus service between Rome and Viterbo, or you can get there by taxi or car, taking either the freeway or the byways winding through quaint villages and towns set among the Cimini mountains.
But if the idea is to catch your breath and not to go to too much expense, the train is the better option. It takes two hours to cover the distance, sometimes stopping at something like 26 stations. But watching the scenery slide by is a holiday in itself.
It is a countryside of farm houses set in a patchwork of cultivated fields, olive groves and indigenous forests, and of pretty towns interspersed by drab apartment and industrial buildings which, by their contrast, underscore the artistry that went into earlier architecture.
The landscape is dotted with tall umbrella pines, said to be found mostly at places where the old Romans lived. There is even a symphony about them called I pini di Roma (Pines of Rome).
The train runs about every hour, but it is advisable to catch it outside rush hour, when it becomes pretty jam-packed with commuters. Tickets cost l4.50 (R58) each way.
The train can be caught at Rome's Stazione Ostiense, near the marbled Pyramid of Cestius that was built about 18BC to 12BC by a politician of that name who was seriously impressed by the style with which the Egyptian pharaohs departed this world.
It is best to disembark at Viterbo's Porta Romana station. There is another station further on called Stazione Porta di Florentina from which it as an easy walk to the archway by that name which is the most spectacular of the entrances to the walled city. But Porta Romana has a tourist information office where maps and brochures are available free of charge, and the impressive archway from which the station takes its name is just a short walk across the road.
Passing through the Porta Romana, you step into a magical world of little coffee, curio and delicatessen shops and stylish modern fashions displayed in windows set in buildings going back to Medieval times.
You can stroll the narrow cobbled lanes winding through the old city and marvel at how unassumingly life continues in ways that have been going on for a thousand years. You can contemplate the joys that go with such continuity while enjoying a pasta with wine at any of the quaint eateries. Or you can do so sitting on a bench on any of the public squares, munching one of the delightful Italian versions of a cold-meat sandwich.
For sightseeing, you can start at Plebiscite Square, a sizeable cobble-stoned area which is flanked by the Priors' Palace, the Prefecture and the Clock Tower from which two granite-stone lions keep watch.
You can wander across to other attractive squares, like Jesus Square, almost everyone of them with a beautiful fountain.
An easy walk further on is the 13th century Papal Palace with, next to it, the St Lorenz Cathedral and a striking 15th century abode called the Valentino della Pagnotta. The grandeur of the palace is enhanced by a broad staircase leading up to its main entrance and a balcony from which the popes, who lived in Viterbo for a time, till 1281, could relish the view across a green valley to where the city wall snakes up a hillside, to this day providing succour for folk living and doing business in an architectural blend of old and new.
One of the remarkable episodes in the city's rich history happened when Pope Clemente IV died there on November 29, 1268, compelling the cardinals to meet in the same city to elect a new pope. After struggling for about a year-and-a-half to make up their minds, the city's civil authorities decided to speed up the process by locking in the 18 cardinals, removing the roof of the palace and only allowing them water and bread. Even so it took them about another year finally to elect a new pope, named Gregory X.
Probably the most striking - and enjoyable - feature of the city is the San Pellegrino, said to be one of the best-preserved medieval centres in Italy. One can easily spend time there soaking in the atmosphere created by original old stone houses with balconies and external staircases lining narrow cobble-stone lanes.
I was in Viterbo for a conference and was able to look around the city for only short periods. I travelled there by bus from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Having decided to take the train back to the airport via Rome, a fellow attendee of the conference, Tatiana Cover, graciously agreed to accompany me to tell me about the countryside and life in Rome. She is Romanian by birth, but has lived most her life in the Italian capital. She loves the city and its surrounds dearly and was delighted to share her insights and offer useful advice, such as that the train should be taken outside rush hour.
The two hours I was able to spend in Rome before catching the train to the airport brought home the immensity of the experience the city keeps offering. Tatiana took me on a drive that gave me my first look at the impressive back of the Palatine ruins. She took me up the Aventino Hill for a peep through the Key Hole in a large green door that provides an almost surrealistic kaleidoscopic view of the distant dome of St Peter's Basilica, and for another view of the same dome down a lane of pines dissecting the hill's famous Orange Garden.
"I myself can never get enough of Rome, even after the many years I have lived here," she remarked. "But I can see the sense for an overwhelmed tourist to take a break for a day or two to a place like Viterbo," she added.
There would, of course, be sense also in making Viterbo and its surrounds a destination in their own right. The city's most popular tourist attraction is the trasporto della Macchina di Santa Rosa, which happens every five years when a tall and heavy structure gets carried along the streets by a large contingent of strong men. It is a colourful and emotional event that happens on September 3 to commemorate the relocation of the body of Saint Rosa, the city's patron saint, from the Church of Santa Maria del Poggio to the church of San Damiano.
The region is a treasure-trove of Etruscan archaeological sites and relics that give a captivating insight into the life and times of these interesting people who preceded the Romans and taught them a good deal about architecture and law, and who, from their murals, seemed a remarkably fun-loving and uninhibited people.
Magnificent lakes, thermal spas and nature parks dot the area, which explains why it was such a favourite retreat.
If you go
- The web has many hotels and guest houses listed under Viterbo Province and Lazio Region from which to pick.
- The Hotel Domus la Quercia, where I stayed, is a pleasant two-kilometre walk from Viterbo's historic centre, though there is a regular bus service. It was once a convent and has retained features like vaulted ceilings, which gives it a nice atmosphere.