Acquapendente is a city in the province of Viterbo in the Lazio region, very close to the capital of Italy.
This town with mythical Etruscan origins is immersed in the forests of the area located in Viterbo.
The particularity of this town is the spiritual connection it has with the holy city: Jerusalem. Despite the fact that the size of this town is small, this particular place offers all tourists a unique cultural, archaeological and artistic wealth.
One of the tourist attractions of this town are the Acquapendente Towers, which are surely an important stop. This city of the Middle Ages was surrounded by a wall that very little remains of that since it was destroyed, the towers that survived were the Julia de Jacopo tower and the Clock Tower. The Julia de Jacopo tower has recently been renovated and is now an information center for the town.
The Jerusalem of Europe
In this town is the first reproduction of the tomb of Christ outside the Holy Land.
Acquapendente Cathedral is a Roman-style Catholic basilica. It is called the Holy Sepulcher because it contains a stone stained with blood that is said to come from the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, this relic is kept inside a Romanesque crypt.
Legend has it that the relic is locked up in this city thanks to Matilda of Westphalia, the mother of Otto I the Great. It is said that her sovereign, in one of her trips from Germany to Rome, had a particular episode in the area of Viterbo since her mules decided to kneel for no reason in this area. During the night the sovereign had a premonitory dream that she decided to order the construction of this church dedicated to the Holy Sepulcher in Acquapendente.
It is a jewel of the Middle Ages and is still preserved with great care. Inside the basilica is the aedicule with the appearance of the Holy Sepulcher, it is an impressive jewel. It is even said that inside there is a stone stained with the blood of Christ himself.
Photo Credits: Davide Papalini, Acquapendente-basilica san sepolcro-facciata, CC BY-SA 3.0
Nature
The city of Acquapendente is not only a cultural destination as we mentioned before, this place has wonderful landscapes and a forest full of mystery and charm. Among the forests, the Bosque Monumentale del Sasseto is one of the most beautiful as it has lava rocks along the way.
Acquapendente is surely a town not so well known to the world but it is certainly worth visiting it and discovering the extraordinary story it has to tell.
