Hello friends. We had an incredible holiday at the volcanic Lake Bolsena in the Lazio region. Every morning, we went on excursions to neighboring towns, swam and sunbathed in the volcanic lake in the afternoons and in the evenings, we either took walks or had dinner in the town of Montefiascone, where we were staying. There was a wine festival being held there during our stay.
Throughout the holiday we visited many amazing, historic places. We explored places like Civita di Bagnoregio, the fairytale village of Sant'Angelo di Roccalvecce, Balneum Viterbo, Marta, Capodimonte and of course, Montefiascone. In this post I wanted to give more detailed information about our holiday at the lake and the festival in Montefiascone. The festival was a two-week cultural event filled with tastings, presentations, concerts, parades, competitions and other interesting activities. We also took trips to magnificent cities like Orvieto, Viterbo and Capodimonte. All of them were incredibly interesting places.
In the afternoons during our holiday we would go down from Montefiascone to Lake Bolsena. Lago di Bolsena is a volcanic lake, so its sand is black. We usually stopped at a free spot just before reaching the town of Marta and swam there. The lake's water is fresh and the sand is black volcanic sand. This black volcanic sand is said to be beneficial for health, containing minerals like iron, magnesium and potassium. These minerals have natural antioxidant properties and positively affect health. When volcanic sand comes into contact with the skin, the minerals help remove toxins from the body, improve the overall condition of the skin, cleanse and brighten the skin. It also cleanses dead skin cells and promotes skin regeneration, which is particularly beneficial for people with skin issues. And black sand is said to help reduce stress and rejuvenate energy.
Apart from sunbathing and swimming at Lago di Bolsena, there are many other things to do. You can participate in water sports or join various excursions. We also took a boat tour and visited one of the islands. Since the island was private property, we didn't land but circled around it, swam in a beautiful spot and then returned. The tour started from the port in Bolsena, where there were small kiosks where we could buy tickets. We enjoyed circling around the islands by boat. The place we stayed in Montefiascone was right below Roca dei Papi, at the top of the hill.
While circling the island we saw many seagulls on the lake because ships cannot dock here, making the seagulls feel at ease. They covered the entire area of rocks and the shore along the lake. We also swam around the island. The pope liked to spend his summer holidays here. There were sheltered spots from the wind in this area and the birds perched on the mountain tops, which was really interesting.
The guide said that Lago di Bolsena is Italy's fifth largest lake. There's a harbor and a beach here. The beach has volcanic sands that are dark, almost black in color. Lago di Bolsena is a wonderful lake with clean, fresh water, formed in the place of extinct volcanoes. According to the guide, there were not just one but several volcanoes here and this lake formed after their extinction. There are springs here and rainwater accumulates. The lake's water level varies depending on the amount of rainfall. It's truly very beautiful here.
I usually don't feel comfortable on stony beaches, but walking on the sand here is great. The water is a bit cool in the mornings, but in the evenings, it gets warmer, almost too warm, I'd say. There are small and interesting towns around the lake. This region is located in Lazio and the lake has two special islands. You can reach these islands by boat tours and visits to the islands are paid. The boat tour costs around 45 Euros per person and there's an additional fee for entry to the island.
We stayed in Montefiascone and really liked it. There are many interesting towns around the lake. We visited the town of Marta and it was also very beautiful. It was very interesting for me because its architecture is very different from the Apulia region in southern Italy. The buildings are constructed from different materials and have different designs.
We attended a wine festival. Every year Montefiascone hosts a wine festival. The festival features many events: costumed parades, concerts, competitions and tastings. During wine tastings, all local cantinas open their doors and set up tables in the streets. Local currency is used instead of regular money for tastings. You can rent a glass and a special bag for 7 Euros. If you return the glass after tasting, you get your 7 Euros back. During the tasting Italians and foreign tourists move from cantina to cantina, tasting wine, dancing to music and having fun. At the festival I really liked the sweet white muscat wine and I really enjoyed Montefiascone wines.
There was a morning parade and two evening parades at the festival. The morning parade started from the papal castle and we went out immediately because we were at the foot of the castle. There were groups of drummers and other musicians.
There were also flag bearers and people in local costumes. The evening parade was similar but with a different group. These were young athletes and sports teams. They went down for the competition, barrel rolling and grape stomping competition. It was a lot of fun and people cheered enthusiastically.
After the competition those with energy could return to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele square to eat or taste more wine. There were very few restaurants and pizzerias in the old town of Montefiascone, so you had to make a reservation in advance. One evening we didn't make a reservation and had a hard time finding a place. Finally we went down to the famous Stefano cantina below and found a place there. However we had to go back up after dinner. If you move a little away from the old town, it's much easier to find restaurants and pizzerias. I entered a supermarket, it was in an old building and sold local wines. I shopped and bought some things from here. I tried the wine I tried at Stefano Cantina, sweet, muscat wine. Maybe it's semi-sweet, but it tastes very sweet to me and a little bubbly, like grape juice. In the Cantina it was 12 euros and here it was 6.59 euros. All wines were cheaper in the supermarket. They charge extra for tourists.
Traffic jams when leaving the old town. Montefiascone is the first city where drivers are careful. Vehicles slow down at intersections and give way to each other. So there is traffic but safe, no accidents. I was surprised to see such careful driving here. I think they have to be careful because of difficult intersections. I had a very good impression of Montefiascone. The old town is small but very cute.
We enjoyed our holiday in this region very much and decided to go again. We couldn't see all the wonderful places around the lake. There are still many places to be discovered, forests, cities on hills, interesting places. Thank you very much for reading.
