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Sanctuary of Demeter in Vetralla: the temple hidden inside a peperino boulder
The Sanctuary of Demeter is located in the Macchia delle Valli area, in the zone known as Pietrara, a hamlet of Vetralla. It is an Etruscan-Roman rock-cut shrine dedicated to the goddess of fertility — Demeter for the Greeks, Vei for the Etruscans, Ceres for the Romans — carved out of a massive block of peperino stone that once served as a quarry. Until 2006, no one knew it existed.
A discovery almost by chance
In 2006, the Carabinieri reported illegal excavations in the area. The Superintendency carried out an emergency dig between May and June, and found the shrine to be completely intact. Hidden for centuries beneath a layer of quarry debris, the site was completely unknown to modern scholarship. Its state of preservation is exceptional: all the rooms and cult furnishings were recovered.
What you can see today
The upper part of the boulder is sculpted into a terrace, which was likely used to pour libations onto the chamber below. Going down, there is an open area in front of the rock face, with holes for roof beams still visible. The chamber is small, with a gabled ceiling lit by a cleft between the rocks. Inside, a terracotta statuette of the goddess and a head believed to represent Proserpina were found. The finds are on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Viterbo at Rocca Albornoz, along with a faithful reconstruction of the chamber.
How to get there
You can park and walk along CAI trail 103, an easy and straightforward walk.
