The suggestive Snow White Forest really exists and is a stone’s throw from Viterbo (and is really worth a trip)

The Snow White’s forest it really exists and is located at the foot of the Torre Alfina castle, in the heart of Tuscia. It’s the Sasseto Forest, an extraordinary corner of biodiversity stolen directly from fairy tales.

Among centuries-old trees, in the monumental Sasseto forest, there is a unique and enchanted atmosphere: the paths seem to retrace the steps of Snow White with green mosses, ferns, twisted branches that frame a castle and the vaguely Gothic style tomb of the Marquis Cahen.

The Sasseto Forest is a biodiversity sanctuary that offers a unique spectacle in every season, with intact and wild nature. This Natural Monument of the Lazio Region stands on a terrain of ancient volcanic rocks and is home to beeches, maples, ash trees, lime trees, elms, chestnut trees, holm oaks, hazelnuts and oaks. Many of these trees, with their monumental dimensions, reach up to 25 meters in height and one meter in diameter, themselves becoming symbols of a landscape that seems suspended in time.

The richness of plant species is surprising: the trees are joined by ferns, mosses, lichens and holly shrubs, together with delicate spring blooms of snowdrops and anemones. And it is precisely the abundant presence of light lichens covering the rocks that gives the name to the “clearing of the white rocks.” When the most impressive trees fall, they return to the earth following their natural cycle, becoming refuges for small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and various species of birds.

The magical atmosphere of the forest, with trees that take on bizarre and intertwined shapes, has also inspired cinema. Here Matteo Garrone chose to set some scenes of The tale of talesa film adaptation of Giambattista Basile’s seventeenth-century fairy tales, where fantastic characters and spells blend perfectly with the natural enchantment of the place.

Walking along these paths, it is easy to imagine being guided by fairies, elves or, perhaps, the seven dwarfs themselves. To explore every hidden corner of the Sasseto Forest, it is advisable to rely on the local associations that organize walks. The absence of directions could make you miss the most secret wonders, but a guide will not only help you orient yourself, but will make the experience even more unforgettable, revealing stories and secrets of this fairytale place.

The Sasseto Forest is a special protection area according to the European Union directives, a true “Snow White forest” to be protected, loved and cherished for future generations.