Montefiascone

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Montefiascone
Comune
Comune di Montefiascone
Location of Montefiascone
Map
St. Margaret of Antioch
Saint dayJuly 20
WebsiteOfficial website
Grave of Bishop Fugger featured in Est! Est! Est! legend.

Montefiascone is a town and comune of the province of Viterbo, in Lazio, central Italy. It stands on a hill on the southeast side of Lake Bolsena, about 100 km (60 mi) north of Rome.

History

The name of the city derives from that of the Falisci (Mons Faliscorum, "Mountain of the Falisci"). Later, it was controlled by the Etruscans. It was suggested that Montefiascone occupies the site of the Etruscan Temple called Fanum Voltumnae, at which the representatives of the twelve chief cities of Etruria met in the days of their independence. Under the Empire, the festival was held near Volsinii.

Cathedral of Montefiascone

The first documents mentioning Montefiascone are from 853 CE, when it belonged to the

Stephen IX and Gregory VII, respectively, stopped here. In 1093 the fortress was besieged by Emperor Henry IV. 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

Cardinal Albornoz. In 1463, however, it was already decaying, as in the words of by Pope Pius II
. 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.[3]
  • Santa Maria delle Grazie: church also by Sanmicheli.
  • 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.
  • Santa Maria di Montedoro
    : church
  • Sant'Andrea
  • Rocca dei Papi, formed by the remains of the old Papal summer residence. At the top of the hill it provides a view of Lago Bolsena.
  • Falesco winery is located there.

References

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. Istat
  3. ^ Kennet, Wayland; Elizabeth Young (1990). Northern Lazio - an Unknown Italy. London: John Murray.

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montefiascone". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 765.

External links


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