The little Jerusalem carved into a cliff of tuff
Seen from the road that arrives from Manciano, Pitigliano is one of the most astonishing sights in Italy: a village of golden stone houses that seem to grow out of a sheer cliff of tuff, the soft volcanic rock of the area, above the gorges of three streams. The cliff is honeycombed with caves and cellars dug over three thousand years, from the Etruscans onwards.
From the sixteenth century Pitigliano had a large Jewish community, so important that the town was called "Little Jerusalem". The synagogue, the ritual bath, the kosher bakery and the cellars of the ghetto can be visited. The Orsini palace and the aqueduct with its great arches complete the town.
Tip: taste the sfratto, a cylindrical honey and walnut pastry from the Jewish tradition, and the local white wine, Bianco di Pitigliano. The best view is at sunset from the Madonna delle Grazie church.
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