Monterano Channel
An abandoned village used as a perfect film set
The ancient center of Canale Monterano was located on the top of a tuff plateau bordered by two gorges created by the Mignone River and the Bicione Torrent. The area is embellished by the presence of Etruscan tombs, covered by thick vegetation, still animated today by springs of sulphurous water.
The town, founded by the Etruscans, already depopulated due to malaria at the end of the 18th century, was definitively abandoned following the devastation carried out by French troops in 1799 which led the surviving population to move to the nearby town of Canale Monterano. Monterano preserves the ruins of medieval houses, the Baronial Palace, the church of San Bonaventura, built by Mattia De' Rossi based on a design by Benini. The abandoned area is accessed at the remains of a Roman aqueduct, which is still preserved today with a double level of arches. Continue to the left until you reach the large open space in front of the church where there is a copy of Benini's beautiful octagonal fountain (the original is located in Piazza del Campo in Canale Monterano). On the facade of the Baronial Palace stands the fountain with the Statue of the Lion. The fountain, called "Capricciosissima", was created by Benini using the rocky foundations of the structure, with the statue of the Lion at the top of the wall depicted in the act of shaking the rock with a paw to make the water come out. Finally, the ruins of the Church of San Rocco, of Porta Gradella (one of the three in Monterano) and of Via Gradella, the bell tower of the cathedral, some bastions to the north of the town, the remains of the entrance to a cellar and some houses built in the surroundings of the palace are visible.
