The intact Middle Ages of the city of the popes
In the thirteenth century Viterbo was the residence of the popes, and here the longest conclave in history took place, lasting almost three years, from 1268 to 1271: exasperated, the citizens locked the cardinals in, removed the roof of the palace and put them on bread and water. The episode gave rise to the word "conclave", "with key".
The Palazzo dei Papi, with its elegant Gothic loggia, stands next to the cathedral. The real treasure is the San Pellegrino quarter, one of the largest and best preserved medieval districts in Europe: houses of dark peperino stone with external staircases called profferli, arches, towers, courtyards and small squares with fountains. Every 3 September the Macchina di Santa Rosa, a lighted tower thirty metres high, is carried through the streets by a hundred porters, a UNESCO intangible heritage tradition.
Tip: in May the San Pellegrino in Fiore festival fills the quarter with flowers; Viterbo is surrounded by free thermal springs, such as the Bullicame.
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