The origins of Ficulle date back to the Etruscan-Roman era as evidenced by the XVII Cippo of the Via Traiana Nova found on the border with the nearby town of Fabro.
The origin of the name Ficulle is still today the object of study, but the most accredited thesis links the origin of the toponym to the Latin term “figulus”, potter or craft activity typical of the town since ancient times and still present today.
Historical documents bear witness to a close link between Ficulle and Orvieto during the Middle Ages, when the village: the “Castrum Ficullensis” represented a fortified settlement of which the two towers called “Rocche” (one cylindrical, placed to defend the door of the Sun, the other semicircular) as well as other remains of the ancient crenelated walls, and also parts of the original castle that belonged for a long time to the Bovaccini counts (10th-11th century). Today this structure is a space that hosts temporary exhibitions and events, and its top is accessible to experience breathtaking views.
Today the center of Ficulle is a typical medieval village, a time when the urban fabric developed in a succession of alleys with Castel Maggiore, the original nucleus of the ancient castle and the “Piazzetta”.
Among the most interesting buildings of Ficulle: Santa Maria Vecchia church (1292), with its Gothic portal and some important frescoes from the second half of the 15th century, Santa Maria Nuova church in late Renaissance style (1606 attributed to Ippolito Scalza from Orvieto), Santa Vittoria church and the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Maestà.
Between Ficulle and the nearby hamlet of San Cristoforo there is the Madonna delle Grazie church, where there is an image of the Madonna of Lourdes. Not far away surrounded by the fertile countryside stands the Castello della Sala, built in the 14th century by the Monaldeschi della Vipera family. In 1940 it became the property of the noble family of the Antinori marquises, and is now the site of a thriving wine business that has produced many world famous wines.
From the naturalistic and geological points of view, the area between Ficulle and Fabro is interesting. It includes a place known as Spiaggia di San Lazzaro, a territory rich in clay sediments that where even today fossils from the Pliocene period can be found.
Ficulle boasts two unique food and wine products; the “Groppone di Ficulle“, a typical beef cold cut mainly of the Cinta Senese breed, which recalls the name of a medieval knight of fortune mentioned in the film “L’Armata Brancaleone” by Mario Monicelli. For craftsmanship the ficullese earthenware, a product obtained from the firing of clay which stands out for its two colors: manganese brown (color deriving from the white clays of the Le Piane locality and black coming from the lands towards Montegabbione) and green copper (generated by a mixture of copper and sulfur). Of the production of the earthenware being mostly linked to products for everyday use, there are still ziri (to contain oil), pots for cooking food, dishes, glasses and panate (containers for water and wine ).
Two well-known characters from Ficulle who are in totally different fields are: Girolamo Ferranti whose name is associated with “Orvietan“, a macerated herb still produced, which enjoyed great fame throughout Europe, and Cardinal Graziani, to which we owe the “Decretum Gratiani”, a work which grouped together canons and chosen decrees intended to bring order to over a millennium of discordant canons of Church history.