265,000 years ago a very small volcano was active here, one of the three bonsai volcanoes identified by recent research. It left behind a rock found nowhere else in the world: venanzite, still visible in the old quarry.
Around the quarry, in 1999, an open-air volcanological park and museum was created. The rest of the comune is woodland: 169 square kilometres, the fifteenth largest in Umbria, with the park of the Sette Frati below the summit of Monte Peglia. From 1290 San Venanzo belonged to the Monaldeschi of Orvieto and stayed tied to Orvieto until 1929, when it became an autonomous comune. The 2,311 residents make cured meats.
Orvieto
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Next up: Saint Venantius, patron of a town built on one of the world's three «bonsai volcanoes», Tuesday 18 May
Nearest airport: Perugia San Francesco, 32 km away
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📅 Every year, on 18 May
San Venanzo celebrates its patron Saint Venantius the martyr on 18 May; the municipal territory sits on one of the three «bonsai volcanoes» identified by recent studies, and is home to venanzite, a volcanic rock unique in the world visible in an ancient quarry.
A white wine carved into Etruscan tufa history, toasted by Garibaldi's Thousand: Orvieto has held Denominazione di Origine Controllata status since 1971.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside San Venanzo, but an easy day trip away.
