The settlement of Sorgenti della Nova developed between the 11th and 10th century B.C. on a tufa and pumice stone outcrop. It is situated at the north-western limit of the province of Viterbo, where the Fosso della Varlenza and the Fosso La Nova, from whose springs it takes its name, mark the boundary between Tuscany and Lazio. The rock is naturally fortified by its sheer sides: a manmade cut in the western wall, completely isolates the settlement.

Ferrante Rittatore Vonwiller undertook the first exploration of the site in 1938; between 1972 and 1973 the rock was cut and partially destroyed by a pumice quarry. The intervention by Milan University dates to 1973, when an attempt was made to collect the material dispersed by the bulldozers. In 1974 the first real excavation campaign began and work has continued on the site until the present day. From 1976 onwards N. Negroni Catacchio has directed the excavations.
The excavations looked at a number of large sectors (I-IX) situated along the north and south sides of the rock and on the acropolis and have brought to light a large proto-Etruscan settlement of proto-urban type and an interesting medieval centre.

The “urban” organisation is fairly complex, the most singular characteristic being the repetition of three types of dwelling: small huts with rock cut bottoms and walls made of perishable material, situated on the summit plateau and large enough to house a family nucleus they were probably destined for the ruling class; the manmade grottoes cut into the sides of the rock, used as dwellings, for cult purposes and as service structures; the oval dwellings with foundations on channels (similar to the oval houses of post-Mycean Greece) situated on the terraces in front of the grottoes and destined for use by extended family units.

Moreover, a monumental rock cut structure with a ditch opened at the base of the south side, this was 30m long and 2.50m wide and was probably a dwelling of some kind. It was obliterated shortly after its construction and thus it may be interpreted as the community’s first residence on the site. (MiBAC)