About twelve miles east of Viterbo, on the same slope of the Ciminian, is the village of Bomarzo, in the immediate neighbourhood of an Etruscan town where extensive excavations have been carried on of late years. The direct road to it runs along the base of the mountain, but the excursion may be made more interesting by a détour to Férento. Both roads are quite impracticable for vehicles.

From Férento the path leads across a deep ravine, past the village of Le Grotte di Santo Stefano, whose name marks the existence of caves in its neighbourhood, and over the open heath towards Bomarzo. But before reaching that place, a wooded ravine, Fosso della Vezza, which forms a natural fosse to the Ciminian, has to be crossed, and here—Chi va piano va sano—must be borne in mind. A more steep, slippery, and dangerous track I remember not to have traversed in Italy. Stiff miry clay, in which the steeds will anchor fast; rocks shelving and smoothfaced, like inclined planes of ice, are the alternatives. Let the traveller take warning, and not pursue this track after heavy rains. It would be advisable, especially if ladies are of the party, to return from Férento to Viterbo, and to take the direct road thence to Bomarzo.

This is a village of considerable size situated on a wooded cliff-bound platform, with an old castle of the Borghese family at the verge of the precipice.