Bolsena Attractions
At the northeast corner of the Lago di Bolsena the picturesquely situated little town of Bolsena (348m/1,148ft; pop. 4,000) lies below the site of Etruscan Volsinium, political center of the league of twelve Etruscan cities (remains of a wall of dressed stone), and the Roman Volsinium Novum, built in 263 B.C. An ancient road paved with basalt blocks leads up (30 minutes) to the scanty remains.
Features of interest in Bolsena itself are the 13th century Castello and the church of Santa Cristina (13th century) to the south of the town. The church has a fine Renaissance facade (c. 1500) with two terracotta reliefs by Andrea della Robbia above the doors. In the interior is the Grotta di Santa Cristiana, with the saint's tomb, and, under the high altar, the stone with which she was drowned in the year 278. The altar is known as the Altare del Miracolo, following the "miracle of Bolsena" in 1263, when a Bohemian priest who had doubted the doctrine of transubstantiation (i.e. the transformation of bread into the body and blood of Christ in the mass) was convinced of his error by the appearance of drops of blood on the consecrated Host. To commemorate the event Pope Urban IV made the feast of Corpus Christi (which had recently been initiated in Belgium) a universal festival of the Church (1264) and caused the splendid cathedral of Orvieto to be built.
Features of interest in Bolsena itself are the 13th century Castello and the church of Santa Cristina (13th century) to the south of the town. The church has a fine Renaissance facade (c. 1500) with two terracotta reliefs by Andrea della Robbia above the doors. In the interior is the Grotta di Santa Cristiana, with the saint's tomb, and, under the high altar, the stone with which she was drowned in the year 278. The altar is known as the Altare del Miracolo, following the "miracle of Bolsena" in 1263, when a Bohemian priest who had doubted the doctrine of transubstantiation (i.e. the transformation of bread into the body and blood of Christ in the mass) was convinced of his error by the appearance of drops of blood on the consecrated Host. To commemorate the event Pope Urban IV made the feast of Corpus Christi (which had recently been initiated in Belgium) a universal festival of the Church (1264) and caused the splendid cathedral of Orvieto to be built.
