Sermugano (Italy) – the place where people live in a castle

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Being a part of Castiglione in the Teverina district, this small village has at the bottom the rivers ‘il Fosso Cieco’ (or di Vionica) and ‘il Rio Chiaro’ (or Fossatello), which are situated 346 meters from the sea, near to the city of Viterbo.
 
 
 


In the village there is an ancient castle which is still inhabited by some of the village’s population.

Even though there are no more than 100 persons living in the village, it has three small churches, two open until 10 PM, pubs, and one shop (where you can buy both vegetables, detergents, clothes and other household items).  Around the castle, there are ancient houses built by stones which are still very well kept. Each place is surrounded by flowers. The inhabitants are old (as their children moved out to Viterbo, Rome or other cities), kind and friendly.  If you learn a little bit of Italian and are able to say ‘hi’ to them, you can be invited inside their home for a coffee and a traditional cake. And ..Oh my God! – they have so good sweets there, you cannot refuse anything (I gained two kilograms during one week in Sermugnano!!!).




 

Outside the village, there is an amazing view of nature: hills, forest, large fields with flowers (when I was there, there were a lot of poppy flowers), fruit trees, conifers, etc.  Not far East from the village, there is an Etruscan and Roman necropolis. 






 

But hey, if you go there, where to stay overnight, huh? Well, if you are lucky, you can get some accommodation offered by the inhabitants living there. They are very sociable, hospitable and if you know some Italian words, you can easily stay overnight in their home. If not, there is the village school transformed into an eco-hostel. I lived there for one week during a Youth in Action project and it was pleasant.  But, if you go there without a project and want to rest, breathe fresh air and find your inner soul and peace, Sermugnano can be one of the places where you can get those things for sure!





 

 

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