Town in the province of Viterbo, nestled on the slopes of the Volsino mountains, along the north-eastern shore of the lake of Bolsena, has very ancient origins, founded in the III century B.C. by the survivors of the destruction of Velza, one of most powerful Etruscan cities, Bolsena, from which it inherited its name, that for classical Latin sources was known with the name of "Volsinii". In the IV century, following the Lombard invasions, the population was forced to take shelter on higher grounds, where soon developed a new urban core with a typical medieval appearance. In 1398 Pope Boniface IX granted Bolsena to the vicarage of Monaldeschi of the Cervara. In 1451, under the domain of the Papal States, during the Renaissance, it became a favorite destination of the Popes, such as: Leo X, Pius II and Paul III.
A charming lakeside town, Bolsena offers tourists the opportunity to practice water sports (windsurfing, canoeing, water skiing, swimming and sailing), and to make excursions in contact with the surrounding environment, between flora and fauna.
Sites of Interest:
- the archaeological remains of the Roman city "Volsinii", such as: the Forum, the Basilica, a section of the city's walls, roads, houses covered with barrel vaults and villas of the Imperial era;
- the Rocca Monaldeschi, now seat of the Territorial Museum of Lake Bolsena, whose earliest records date back to 1156 when, in view of the raids of Barbarossa, the Emperor Hadrian IV had all the towns along the Via Cassia fortified;
- the Basilica of Santa Cristina, built in the XI century in Romanesque style, features a façade in Renaissance style and a XIV century Bell Tower with mullioned windows. The interior features three naves and houses several valuable frescoes from the XIV and XVI centuries and a fine XV century altarpiece of the artist Sano di Pietro. From the left aisle, it is possible to access to the Chapel of the Miracle (XVII century) which houses an altar with stones stained with blood, relics of the Eucharistic Miracle (1263), while the Sacred Body, an altar cloth, stained with the same blood, is kept in the Cathedral of Orvieto. Next to this the miracle is situated the Grotta di Santa Cristina, which is part of the Christian catacombs;
- the Church of St. Francis (XII-XIII century);
- Porta San Giovanni (1559);
- Porta San Francisco (1574);
- the Fountain di San Rocco (XVI-XVIII century).