South of Capalbio on the road to Rome in the rocky mountains overlooking Civitavecchia is the fabulous medieval village of Tolfa. It has remarkably old Neolothic origins, with a wealth of archeological history, and became suddenly important in 1461 with the discovery of large deposits of precious and essential alum, a sulphate used to make dyes for textiles.

Alum had always been imported from the East, from the Ottoman turks, but this new wealth established a monopoly for the controlling Papal States, who granted the mining deeds to various noble families, in turn, and used the wealth to finance their wars against the Ottomans. Towering over the village are the ruins of the Frangipani castle, destroyed by French troops in 1799 when the town rebelled against Rome, and the local food here – mountain meats and cheeses – is fantastic.