Our short motorcycle itinerary takes you today to discover Lake Bolsena, the fifth largest in Italy.
On the border with Umbria and Tuscany, it is located in the main caldera of the Vulsinio volcanic complex. In addition to the evocative panorama and the quiet lake, the lake is mainly known for its small villages and inhabited centers, rich in history, both on the banks and on the slopes of the Volsini mountains.
Content index
Bolsena
Starting from Bolsena and following the panoramic road clockwise, so as to always have the water on the right, we find first of all Bolsena, the city that gave the name to the lake. leaves, keeps the walls of the fourth century BC and a small temple. Of the following city, the Roman Volsinii, remain: the amphitheater, the baths, bridges, roads and necropolis. In the ancient medieval village, very well preserved, we find the Collegiate Church of Santa Cristina, built in the eleventh century on ancient and partly unexplored, Christian catacombs and a chapel built in 1693 in memory of the Eucharistic miracle of 1263. Il Castle (XNUMXth-XNUMXth century) recently restored, today it houses the interesting territorial museum of the lake.
montefiascone
The most beautiful panorama of the lake can be found here: it is located at 590 m asl and stands on top of the the highest hill of the Volsini Mountains. Built in the early Middle Ages, it entered the domains of the Church in the eighth century, of which it became an important center. Not to be missed: a visit to the Church of S. Flaviano (XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries), built on two superimposed floors, the Duomo begun in 1519 and completed in the seventeenth century.
Capodimonte
Among the villages overlooking Lake Bolsena, Capodimonte it is among the smallest but certainly one of the most fascinating, thanks to its detail that dominates one of the promontories overlooking the lake. Do not miss: the massive Fortress Farnese commissioned by Cardinal Albornoz and originally built to imprison heretics. Not far from the Rocca you will find the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Palazzo Borghese, now the town hall, and the Poniatowski palace, also known as the “Palazzaccio”. Last but not least, we point out the interesting Inland Water Navigation Museum, located a few minutes from the historic center.
Grotte di Castro
Caves of Castro it stands on a tuffaceous cliff of the Volsini Mountains. It was founded in the early Middle Ages by the inhabitants who escaped the destruction of nearby Civita, in search of a safe and defensible place. The origins of Grotte di Castro date back to the Etruscan period, of which we have evidence of numerous necropolis scattered throughout its territory and the multitude of finds that still reappear to light today. On the hill, called Civita, stood a thriving Etruscan town by the name of Threw. It is assumed that the city was destroyed during the Roman invasion of 280 BC and then repopulated. During the early Middle Ages, the populations of Lake Bolsena suffered the invasion of the Barbarians and Tire was again destroyed in the XNUMXth century. by the Lombards. As evidence of this remains the name of a place called "valle muje", that is "valley of screams”, Where a bloody massacre seems to have taken place.
| For this itinerario we used: Helmet Caberg Levo - Motorcycle BMW R1200RS - Intercom Sena SF4 - Bags SW-Motech - Windscreen Wunderlich |
