The tuff cities: a ‘living landscape’ at the border of volcanoes in central Italy

This chapter describes a unique landscape produced by the action of endogenous and exogenous factors at the border of the Vulsini Volcanic District between Latium, Umbria and Tuscany regions in central Italy. This area comprises a narrow strip corresponding to the transition between the pyroclastic coherent caprock (volcanic plateau) and the lower Pliocene soft clays. Several morphological features such as mesas, buttes, cliffs, pinnacles, and towers represent the remnants of the original volcanic plateau, modelled by continuous mass movements and, since ancient times, hosting human settlements. The mutual relationship between the natural environment and the human presence is the mixing for a unique “Cultural Landscape”. The sites are still affected by geomorphological processes and many efforts are now in progress to maintain and preserve the historical villages on the top of the cliff.