📍 Distance from Cà del Bocca: about 130 km, 1 hour 50 minutes by car
⏱️ Time needed: half a day, guided tours by reservation only
🗺️ Where: Umbria, in the municipality of Montegabbione (Terni), between Lake Trasimeno and Orvieto
La Scarzuola is one of the most surprising places in Italy. According to tradition, in 1218 St Francis stopped here and built a hut from scarza, a marsh plant: hence the name and, later, a Franciscan convent. In 1956 the complex was bought by the Milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi, who built his “ideal city” next to the convent: a theatrical maze of stairways, towers, theatres and symbols in tuff stone, set among cypresses and gardens.
What to see at La Scarzuola
- The old Franciscan convent, with its church and the lawn with the 18th-century terracotta Stations of the Cross.
- Buzzi’s city, with the large open-air theatre and the boxes of the Sun and the Moon.
- The symbolic buildings: the Tower of Babel, the Temple of Apollo, the Tower of Sleep and many other surprises.
- The cypress avenues and gardens linking the two parts.
How to get there from Cà del Bocca
La Scarzuola is about 1 hour 50 minutes away, via Arezzo and the A1 motorway. The route is shown below.
Tips for your visit
- Visits are by reservation only, with a guide: book in advance on the official website lascarzuola.com. Days and times may change.
- Tours are often led by Marco Solari, Tomaso Buzzi’s nephew, who explains the hidden meanings of the city.
- Wear comfortable shoes: there are many steps and stone passages.
- Combine La Scarzuola with Orvieto for a full day.
Stay at Cà del Bocca and discover La Scarzuola
Two self-contained apartments in the countryside of Anghiari, the ideal base for exploring Tuscany and Umbria.
