In the Town Hall square, silence is muffled. Some elderly chatter in a low voice in front of the bar, the tolling of the bells suggests that it’s noon already, yet in Sutri the calm is almost unreal.
Ph. Roberta Venditti
You can even hear the roar of the water from the Dolphins fountain, which decorates the Town Hall square and ideally represents the center of the town. This is the point around which the daily life of this small village in Central Italy orbits, today counted among the most beautiful of the whole country.
“Just two miles away is Sutri, a beloved place for the goddess Ceres, and an ancient colony of Saturn, according to what is said: where not far from the walls is the field that is said to have been the first in Italy to receive the seed of wheat...”Francesco Petrarca, “Epistolae Familiares”
Sutri is a place of legends and popular traditions. A story handed down from father to son tells us about Berta, sister of Charlemagne, expelled from the kingdom together with the beloved leader Milone, unwelcome to the king because he had no noble title. Right here, between the Etruscan walls and the tall trees surrounding this village of Tuscia, she gave birth to her son Orlando Paladino, later Chiaramonte Marquis, Count of Blaye and Gonfaloniere of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church.
Ph. Roberta Venditti
Orlando grew up in Sutri, until one day, when he learned of the arrival of Charlemagne, marching with his army towards Rome, he decided to challenge him. He disguised himself as a servant and infiltrated the royal banquet, where he was able to steal the cup the king had drunk from. Charlemagne, struck by the boy's cunning, when he learned that he was his nephew, decided to forgive Berta and wanted Orlando beside him, allowing the family to reunite.
Ph. Roberta Venditti
Sutri is a place full of stories, as ancient as its origin, rooting already in the Stone Age, although only with the Etruscans this village became well-known and flourishing. According to popular tradition the town was founded by Saturn, father of gods, from whose Etruscans name, Surtrinas, the name of the city derives.
And the story is so dear to Sutri, that even in the city coat of arms Saturn appears on horseback, lifting a bundle of ears of wheat, as a sign of abundance and fertility.