Region: LAZIO
Province code: VT
Zip code: 01023
Phone area code: 0761
Distance from VITERBO 31 Km / 19 Miles
Elevation: 350 mt / 1151 feet
BOLSENA
Bolsena is a summer resort, agricultural centre and fishing town on the north-east side of Lake Bolsena, in the Viterbo province. It dates back to Etruscan times and is made up of the medieval village built on the crater slope, and the modern part which stretches between vineyards and olive groves towards the flat shores of the lake. The ancient city of Velsna was one of the most powerful in the Etruscan city confederation before it was subjugated by the Romans, destroyed and then rebuilt. The old part of the town is still dominated by the medieval castle built by the Orvietani family in the form of a quadrilateral with towers at each corner.
You can visit the eleventh century Romanesque Church of Santa Cristina with its Renaissance façade and soaring twelfth century bell tower. It has three naves and two chapels worth visiting, the Chapel of the Rosary and the Chapel of the Miracle. The Church of San Francesco, in Piazza Matteotti, dates back to the thirteenth century but has been rebuilt. The façade has a beautiful Gothic door and the single nave is decorated with frescoes painted in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
