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 When
Sutri had been taken in 728 by the Longobards, their king
Luitprand thought well of donating the town to the Church,
a nice little gift for Pope Gregory II. As time went on, the
example was followed by other kings and emperors: That's how
Sutri became the cradle of the future Pontifical State. According
to the tradition, Roland, named Paladin of France by his oncle
Charlemagne, was born in this town, after Charlemagne on his
way to Rome had abandoned here his disheredited sister.
The Duomo has been originally
built in Romanesque forms on top of a pre-existing ancient
Christian building and then completely altered during the
18th century. Having been consecrated by Innocent III in 1207,
it conserves a Byzantine style painting, a 16th century altar
and the crypt, one of the most suggestive of the Viterbese
region.
 Near
the town, on the Via Cassia in direction of Rome, there is
the Parco Archeologico-Paesaggistico with an Etruscan
monumental rock necropolis, a particular elliptical amphitheatre,
completely excavated from the tuff, and the small medieval
church of the Madonna del Parto with its walls covered with
votive frescoes, created on the site of a pe-existent Roman
mithreum. There is an entrance fee to be paid for the parc.
The same ticket grants admittance
to the Museo Minerario, hosted in an ancient monastery
of the 15th century in a parc called Oasi di Sapientia. It
presents an interesting collection of raw minerals from all
over the world, placed in 52 niches of the caves, in which
the original habitats of their discovery are reproduced.
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