LE BUCACCE FARM

LE BUCACCE FARM

CAPODIMONTE (VT) ITALY

LAKE BOLSENA

(CLICCA SULLE AREE ATTIVE DELLA MAPPA)

Lake Bolsena, with its 114 sq km and 43 km perimeter is the largest lake in Latium and the fifth largest lake in Italy. It is also the biggest lake formed within the crater of an extinct volcano. A 60-kilometer road runs along its shores, at times rising on hillocks with breathtaking panoramas. There are two islets covered with Mediterranean shrubs, whilst on the shores oak forests and chestnut woods are interspersed with vineyards and olive groves. Its waters teem with tench, carps and eels, considered a delicacy since the time of the ancient Romans. This area has been inhabited from the early Iron Age, as documented by the remains of Villanovan villages, today submerged due to the rise of the waters. During the pre-Etruscan period flourished the village of Bisentium, later to become the Etruscan Vesna, the Latin Volsinii and today's Bolsena, which has given its name to the lake, called Lacus Volsiniensis in ancient times. The town centre of Bolsena is Medieval, with narrow streets leading up to the Castle, erected in 1200 which is now a Municipal Museum.

Following the coastal road, we arrive at the Medieval town of Marta, situated on the River Marta, an emissary of Lake Bolsena. According to tradition, the Fortress, built by Pope Urban IV in 1200, was made of stones from ancient Bisentium, whose remains are visible not far from the town centre. Every May 14th there is a unique ceremony called the Passion or 'Barabbata'. The origins of this festival go back to the ancient cult of Ceres, substituted later on by the Virgin Mary in the Christian era. The term 'Barabbata' probably derives from the rowdiness of the participants who drank heavily.

Another important centre on Lake Bolsena is Capodimonte, which lies on a small peninsula. During the XVIth Century, Annibal Caro, the famous translator of Virgil's Eneiad, dedicated stunning verses to the beauty of the area he had known during a sojourn.
There are two small islands in the lake: Bisentina, which lies only three kilometres from Capodimonte whose name derives from the ancient Bisentium, and Martana, 2.5 Kilometres from Marta. The former, covered with luxuriant vegetation, Mediterranean shrubs, ilex trees and rose gardens, is privately owned and hosts Palazzo Farnese, probably designed by Antonio Sangallo the Younger. The crescent-formed Martana Island, part of a minor crater, is also covered with laurel, olive and ilex trees, and the ruins of an abandoned Medieval village stand on the island. Its history is linked to the sad story of Amalasunta, daughter of Theodoric and queen of the Ostrogoths, who was murdered here by her second husband and cousin, the power crazed Theodatus, in 534. There is a legend about the treasure of Amalasunta, who, suspecting her forthcoming demise, was said to have buried it in Bolsena.
The most important town on the lake is Montefiascone, which dominates all of the Tuscia region from its height of 600 metres a.s.l. Indeed, its fortress and the great dome of Santa Margherita, one of the largest in Italy, can be seen from almost all Etruria. And, last but not least, the extraordinary EST EST EST wine produced in Montefiascone is known world-wide.
Other towns overlooking the lake are Gradoli and San Lorenzo Nuovo.

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