53 km north of Rome. The town is industrial now but it has an impressive pedigree. The Falerians, a Bronze Age people, built it and established a ceramics tradition which flourishes today, judging by the numbers of pottery shops and workshops along the approach roads. The Romans destroyed the place in AD 241 and rebuilt it 700 years later, calling it Falerii Novi. That medieval ‘New Town’ is a picturesque ruin today but its triangular walls and nine gateways are intact and the Rocca, designed by Sangallo, the chief military architect of the 16thC, is still a solid fortress, housing pre-Roman ceramics. The mosaics of the cathedral pavement and portico were crafted by the Cosmati, famous 13thC marble workers. Inside the Roman wall, among alleys and stairways, are several churches including the tiny ancient Santa Chiara.