IT’S HARD TO DESCRIBE THE wilderness and abandonment of this spectacular archaeological site. Norchia was a satellite settlement of the powerful Etruscan city of Tarquinia, which dominated the coast of northern Lazio during the 4th-century CE. Norchia was likely established as one of the city’s outposts inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which also crossed several important overland trade routes.

Even today, Norchia’s impressive landscape is a testimony to its strategic position. The plateau is marked by the ruins of a medieval castle and the Romanesque church of Saint Peter, all of which were easily defensible.