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Balza di Seppie Natural Monument: the badlands and thousands of years of geological history
Balza di Seppie is a natural monument of just 1.26 hectares, in the territory of Lubriano, in the Viterbo area of Tuscia. It is small, certainly. But it is a geological wall like an open book: volcanic layers, clays, tuff, basalt — all exposed, all visible.
A path through gorges and cultivated fields
The area can be reached from the old town centre following a path that crosses gorge settings and cultivated fields, as far as Montesu farm. There you find the viewpoint, with panels that help to decipher the succession of volcanic materials layered across the plateaus. Water and landslides have carved them over time, creating those jagged formations called "cavoni" — clay badlands.
Clay that yields, tuff that resists
Higher up, the tuff and basalt plateaus hold firm. But their worn flanks betray the rock composition: they too, in the long run, will give way. The difference is in timing — the clay crumbles before your eyes, volcanic rock takes centuries.
A SIC/ZPS site within the Natura 2000 Network
The Balza di Seppie Natural Monument is recognised as a SIC/ZPS (Site of Community Importance/Special Protection Area) site within the Natura 2000 Network, the European ecological network for biodiversity conservation. An interesting detail is that, despite the designation, this area is not closed off. Traditional farming activities — grazing and non-intensive agriculture — are accepted, as part of the balance that keeps this landscape intact.
