Chiusi is the perfect city to take a trip with children. The village is rich of places and experiences that surely will like also to the little ones. Here you are what to do in Chiusi with children.
From where to start visiting Chiusi with children?
You can immediatly plunge yourself in the alleys of the village with the visit of the Town Museum “The Underground City”, where it’s exposed the biggest epigraphic etruscan collection of the world, which counts approximately 300 urns and 200 tomb tiles, and across a big well it’s possible to enjoy the view of the famous “lake” underground. Until 5 September it’s also possible to benefit from the free workshops for children about restauration, etruscan writing or orientiring (workshops on Sunday 10-13, from Tuesday to Saturday 15-18).
Chiusi is a village rich of art and archeology: the discovery continues to the “Etruscan National Museum” that is one of the most important in Italy for the knowledge of the Etruscan culture during all its evolution. The collection presents pieces of great value, from the period of Bronze Age until Longobard. Have fun to discover the etruscan Sfinge or to admire the famous “Canopo di Dolciano”, after downolading the children books, to try writing with etruscan characters and playing with quiz, crosswords and drawings.
The kids’ guides “Gli Etruschi di Porsenna” and “(Ri)scrivere il passato”. (Available here: https://urlsand.esvalabs.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.polomusealetoscana.beniculturali.it%2Findex.php%3Fit%2F228%2Fchiusi-si-museo-nazionale-etrusco-di-chiusi-necropoli-di-poggio-renzo-e-tomba-del-colle&e=792f98d4&h=d54cfa6e&f=y&p=y ). Continue as true explorers with the visit of the “Cathedral Museum” from which you can access to the famous “Labyrinth of Porsenna”. Another strecth of cuniculs (it was a part of the ancien etruscan plumbing system) snakes under the city until you reach a large Roman cistern, and ends “climbing” the bell tower; the itinerary can be visited only with guided tours (it’s reccomended to book).
Outside the Chiusi’s undergrounds, you can admire the Duomo, or Cattedrale di S. Secondiano, one of the most ancien churches of Tuscany, dating back VI century a.c. Enjoy the eighteen roman columns, all different from each other , and play to guess if the decorations of the apse are really in mosaic ( for real they are frescoes of the end of the XIX century, inspired by the ravennati models and by Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome”).
If you are looking for a fresh and shady place after the visit at the museums, , don’t forget to visit the park “I Forti”, recently restored, to catch the breath. It’s a monumental park, where there are also etruscan artifacts, and if you are lucky, you can find the volunteers passionate about archeology walking around, who first excavated the cuniculs, and will be nice to listen to their stories.
Before undressing the explorer clothes, you can’t miss the visit of the Catacombs of Santa Mustiola (on the road to the Lake) or of S. Caterina of Alessandria (Chiusi Scalo), booking at the Cathedral Museum. Have fun to walk trough these underground routes that hosted the burials of the firsts Christians and let the guides tell you the stories of those families, you can also find a few small skeletons.
If you decided to visit Chiusi with children, you must visit the Chiusi Lake, for a little fun, outdoor running, and to admire the present wildlife (lake bird, fish and amphibians), a real paradise for who loves nature and birdwatching.
For the more sporty it’s possible to reach the lake across the “Sentiero della Bonfica”, a pedestrian and cycle itinerary of approximatelly 62 km, which connects Chiusi to Arezzo. Obviously you can choose to cover one section, for example the part that connects Chiusi Scalo to the lake and the return: an itinerary surely recommended also for children, because it’s totally flat and permits crossing an extraordinary territory where history, nature and traditions merge in a perfect union. To fix the borders with Umbria, there are two towers “Beccati questo” and “Beccati quello”, as evidence of the ancien rivality between two territories.
In the end, a pair of suggestions of culinary type to try in the restaurants of the village, or of the lake, which of course will love also the children (tested tastes):
- “Pici”: an handmade pasta, with only water and flour, with a form similar at a big irregular spaghetti, dressed with meat sauce or with Valdichiana’s “aglione”;
- “Chianina”: cuts of fine meat of a particular race of native bovine known also with the name “white giant”;
- “Brustico” dish with lake’s fish, cooked on the bright flame of lake reeds, filleted and served with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon, proposed as a starter or as a second dish in the restaurants on the banks of the Chiusi Lake. For the children, attention to the bones, but the taste will catch them.
Don’t forget to season all with local Evo Oil, in particular the “Minuta” a local and ancient olive with an extraordinary flavor.
