A city of the plain which suffered destruction several times. Its one distinguished citizen’s grave, that of Tacitus the Roman historian, is lost. Surviving relics of a murky past include the Dark Age church of San Salvatore, formerly a pagan temple; San Lorenzo and San Francesco, both 12thC; Palazzo Spada, the last great edifice of the military architect Sangallo; and pieces of an amphitheatre of 32 BC.

West on Route 79 you enter the delicious Valnerina, the wooded vale of the Nera river. The Marmore Falls 7 km from Terni (170 m high) are one of Italy’s chief aquatic spectacles when water is coming over them. Old-time engineers created them when controlling the river but the Falls are in full spate only on holidays and (best of all if you can manage it) on summer Saturday evenings under floodlights. On the same road, 13 km from Terni, is the secret lake of Piediluco, a spot of natural beauty in the green forest and the haunt of canoeists and trout fishermen who have not yet wrecked its rustic tranquillity. North-west of Terni on Route 79 and off Route 3bis are the Roman remains of Carsulae (10 km from Terni) with discernible stretches of the Via Flaminia, also an arch and two theatres of classical times. Off the same road are San Gemini (10 km) and Acquasparta (16 km), two bright little spa towns. There are campsites and discos.