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Heading north from Viterbo by road, there's little choice but to take the Via Cassia to MONTEFIASCONE , an unattractive journey, not improved by opting for the train, which runs alongside. Montefiascone rears up high, perched on the rim of an old volcanic crater, an Etruscan city and possibly the site of a huge temple to Voltumna - a sort of parliament for the heads of the twelve-city Etruscan Federation. The seventeenth-century Duomo is immediately striking, a huge octagonal pile that totally dominates the skyline, though it's less interesting than the twelfth-century church of San Flaviano a little way out of town on the road to Orvieto. An extraordinary Romanesque work, consisting of two interconnected but opposite-facing basilicas, the lower church contains several fourteenth- and fifteenth-century frescoes as well as the tomb of Bishop Giovanni Fugger, who reputedly died from knocking back too much of the local wine, Est! Est! Est! . Bumph from the tourist office , Via Cassia Vecchia (tel 0761.83.201), regales you with other unlikely legends surrounding the brew and has details of accommodation , which includes the inexpensive hotel Italia at Piazzale Roma 9 (tel 0761.826.058; L60,000-90,000/?30.99-46.48) and a campsite , the Amulasanta , Via del Lago 77 (tel 0761.85.294), out on the Marta road at Prato Roncone. Buses run from Montefiascone to Orvieto and to most points on Lago di Bolsena - a popular destination, though rarely overcrowded. If you want to get away from it all and plan on spending some time here, head for the less-visited western shore, which is better for camping rough and more picturesque into the bargain. The lake, the largest crater lake in Europe, occupies the remains of a broad volcanic crater. The surrounding soil is immensely fertile, and there's a super-mild microclimate, with most of the shores intensely cultivated as a result. Dante praised the quality of its eels, though fishermen today are hampered by the so-called sesse - odd tide-like variations in the lake's level. CAPODIMONTE , on the southern shore, is one of the more developed spots, an attractive town that pushes into the lake on a partly forested peninsula. The only sight worth a mention is the sixteenth-century Castello Farnese (closed to the public), an octagonal tower commanding the tip of the promontory, but there's good swimming from a tree-lined shore, and boat trips run out to the Isola Bisentina , which sports Etruscan tombs, five frescoed chapels, and another Farnese villa - the summer retreat of several popes. The nearest campsite is 1500m away at Localita San Lorenzo, Camping Bisenzio (tel 0761.871.202; May-Sept). On the opposite shore, BOLSENA is the lake's main focus, a relaxed and likeable place that's worth a stop even if you don't intend to hang around. Medieval nooks and alleyways run off the single main drag, with a well-preserved fourteenth-century castle perched over the western end. Inside is the local museum (Tues-Sun: summer 9.30am-1.30pm & 4-8pm; winter 9.30am-1.30pm; free) with a modest collection of local Roman and Etruscan finds. The deconsecrated thirteenth-century church of San Francesco adds character to the town's main Piazza Matteotti and occasionally hosts concerts and small exhibitions, and the eleventh-century Santa Cristina conceals a good Romanesque interior behind a wide Renaissance facade added in 1494. St Cristina was the daughter of the town's third-century Roman prefect, who tortured her for her Christian beliefs, eventually throwing her into the lake with a stone round her ankles. Miraculously the stone floated and saved her life, becoming marked with the imprint of her feet - though she died at the tender age of 12 as a result of further mistreatment. The stone makes up the altar of the Cappella del Miracolo, off the left-hand aisle - an altar that also starred in the Mass of Bolsena , when a sceptical priest was assured of the mystery of transubstantiation by real blood. Adjoining the chapel is the Grotta di Santa Cristina, once part of early Christian catacombs. Set back a kilometre from the lake, the town itself tends to shut down come nightfall, when the bars and restaurants on the shore get into full swing. The closest of the campsites , most of which are a short walk out of town, is the Campeggio Il Lago , less than a kilometre away at Viale Cadorna 6 (tel 0761.799.191; March-Sept); La Pineta is a similar distance from town at Viale Diaz 48 (tel 0761.799.801; May-Sept). The cheapest hotel is the Italia , Corso Cavour 53 (tel 0761.799.193; L60,000-90,000/?30.99-46.48). For full details, call in at the tourist office at Piazza Matteotti 9 (summer Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 4-8pm; winter Sat & Sun 9am-1pm & 4-8pm; tel 0761.799.923). To the east of Bolsena stretches an extraordinary, almost lunar landscape, pitted with deeply eroded canyons , some wooded but most just bare, wasted slopes. At its heart lies the tiny village of CIVITA DI BAGNOREGGIO , known as "la citta che muore" ("the city that is dying") due to the erosion of the rock beneath it. People have been emigrating from here since the sixteenth century, leaving behind a dwindling population in a strange, eerily deserted village that's also inhabited by a number of foreign artists. The village is slowly becoming a tourist attraction in its own right: there's a longstanding rumour that an Italian computer company has plans to buy up the place wholesale, but for the moment it's worth a visit just for its very weirdness. Stranded evocatively on an isolated rocky outcrop, the only access is on foot from the nearby village of BAGNOREGGIO (about 20min). Due north of the lake, SAN LORENZO NUOVO is just one of many villages you'll pass through if you're continuing up by road to Siena. A planned settlement, centred on an octagonal piazza, it was constructed in 1774 to house the inhabitants of the village of  © 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here!
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San Lorenzo, who had been forced to move by the malaria that once ravaged the entire lake shore. By some architectural freak the design was copied from a suburb of Copenhagen. If you have time and transport, hilltop GRADOLI , a few kilometres west, is at the heart of a big wine area and has another palace built by the Farnese family. A rough road just beyond, from Latera, leads to the Lago di Mezzano , a beautiful and highly recommended spot if you're travelling with a tent.
Your Tips For Montefiascone and Lago di Bolsena
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