Sovana begins in Piazza del Pretorio, where all the buildings date back to the 13th century. The first on the right, the Palazzo Pretorio, bears the coats of arms of the various captains of justice, the equivalent of police commanders in the Renaissance.
Inside there is a small but important free Etruscan museum. Its strengths are two small statues of Zertur and Velia, the man and the woman, dated to the 3rd century BC. C. At the center of the square is the Palazzo dell’Archivio: seriously damaged during a siege in the 15th century, it was rebuilt with the addition of a clock tower, which remained stuck at the same time for centuries.
The nearby Church of Santa Maria Maggiore may not look like anything exceptional, but its interior is enchanting. Almost completely bare, this stone church built in the 12th century has a primitive sacredness. Its emptiness enhances the glory of the unique pre-Romanesque ciborium above the altar, which looks like a miniature temple with its white marble columns and intricately patterned dome.
Follow via di Mezzo to take a look at the artisan workshops and shops selling beautifully soft silks in homage to their city’s artistic heritage. In fact, Sovana has art in his blood: his own
first artists were Etruscans, who had learned the art of ceramics from the Greeks; today their descendants use the same color palette – blue, red and old yellow – in their vases and plates.
The 10th century Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is located at the end of the via di Mezzo. The only example of Romanesque and religious Gothic architecture left in Maremma, the cathedral arouses amazement: a Gothic arch goes around the main door in original white marble and is covered in bas-reliefs representing souls rising to heaven, sirens with double tails and warriors horse. To see the interior of the cathedral you will be asked for a small donation: it is worth it, even just to admire the enormous stone columns decorated with tiny biblical scenes. The 12th century sculptures follow one another starting from the story of Creation, from Moses parting the Red Sea and Daniel among the lions. At the front of the cathedral, a 15th-century travertine baptismal font is surrounded by rich, dark paintings of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. The travertine sarcophagus near the right wall bears a reclining sculpture of Sovana’s patron saint, San Mamiliano, and contains his relics.