Montefiascone
Encyclopedia
Montefiascone is a town and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

of the province of Viterbo
Province of Viterbo
The Province of Viterbo is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. It is bordered to the north by the Province of Grosseto and Siena, by the north-east with the Province of Terni and Rieti, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and south by the Province of Rome.It...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, located on a hill on the southeast side of Lake Bolsena
Lake Bolsena
Lake Bolsena is a crater lake of central Italy, of volcanic origin, which was formed starting 370,000 years ago following the collapse of a caldera of the Vulsini volcanic complex into a deep aquifer. Roman historic records indicate activity of the Vulsini volcano occurred as recently as 104 BC,...

, 95 km north of GRA (Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

).

History

The name of the city derives from that of the Falisci
Falisci
Falisci is the ancient Roman exonym for an Italic people who lived in what was then Etruria, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. The region is now entirely Lazio. They spoke an Italic language, Faliscan, closely akin to Latin. Originally a sovereign state, politically and socially they...

 (Mons Faliscorum, "Mountain of the Falisci"). Later, it was controlled by the Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...

s. It was suggested that Montefiascone occupies the site of the Etruscan Temple called Fanum Voltumnae
Fanum Voltumnae
The Fanum Voltumnae, or shrine of Voltumna, was the chief sanctuary of the Etruscans: fanum means a sacred place, a much broader notion than a single temple. Numerous sources refer to a league of the “Twelve Peoples” of Etruria, formed for religious purposes but evidently having some political...

, at which the representatives of the twelve chief cities of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...

 met in the days of their independence. Under the Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

, the festival was held near Volsinii
Volsinii
Volsinii or Vulsinii , is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis , and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium and Forum Cassii...

.
The first documents mentioning Montefiascone are from 853 CE, when it belonged to the bishop of Tuscania. In 1058 and 1074 the Popes Stephen IX and Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...

, respectively, stopped here. In 1093 the fortress was besieged by Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...

. The importance of the fortress was confirmed by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's visit in 1185.

In the following two centuries, as a Papal possession, Montefiascone lived its period of highest splendour. The Castle was often residence of Popes, and was consequently enlarged and embellished. During Avignon Papacy
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. This arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French crown....

, it was the main residence of the Papal legate Cardinal Albornoz. In 1463, however, it was already decaying, as in the words of by Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...

. The decline increased after the plague of 1657 and the earthquake of 1697.

It became part of the new Kingdom of Italy in 1870. It was damaged by two Allied bombings in May 1944.

Main sights

  • Montefiascone Cathedral is one of the earliest structures by Michele Sanmicheli. Dedicated to Saint Margaret (Santa Margherita), the cathedral was a ruin in 1330 and took three centuries to rebuild. Subsequently, in 1670, it suffered a serious fire, with repairs taking a further decade. The interior was elaborately restored in 1893.
  • The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, also by Sanmicheli.
  • The church of San Flaviano (built in 1032, repaired and enlarged in the Gothic style late in the 14th century), a curious double church of importance in the history of architecture; in its interior some 14th-century frescoes were discovered in 1896. In the crypt is the grave of a traveler who succumbed to excessive drinking of the local wine known as Est! Est!! Est!!!. The story is that his valet, who preceded him, wrote "est" on the doors of all the inns where good wine was to be had, and that here the inscription was thrice repeated.
  • Rocca dei Papi is the remains of the old Papal summer residence. At the top of the hill it provides a tremendous view of Lago Bolsena.
  • The town piazza is the place to see and be seen on a warm summer evening.
  • Church of Santa Maria di Montedoro
  • Falesco
    Falesco
    Falesco is a winery and vineyard established in Montefiascone, Italy in 1979. Falesco has been described as a "state-of-the-art winery" and its production facilities are now located in Montecchio. It is a "family affair" run by Riccardo Cotarella, his brother Renzo and his daughter Dominga. ...

    winery is located there.

External links




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