A Trip to Montefiascone, in Central Italy

Montefiascone

Jeff’s Parents came to spend a month with us and we decided to take a little road trip up to the Tuscan and Umbria borders of our region of Lazio. We have chosen Montefiascone for our home base. It is an exhausting exercise to try and decide where to spend your time anywhere in Italy because there are so many choices. 

I chose Montefiascone (mont-a-fiasco-naye) as our home base because I found an irresistible medieval house for rent in the perfectly preserved old city of Montefiascone. Montefiascone means Mountain of Filisci, an ancient Etruscan site overlooking lake Bolsena created through ancient volcanic activity. The hilltop castle was first mentioned in 853 AD when it belonged to the Bishop of Tuscania. In later years up until the 1400’s it became the favorite summer residence of many popes, earning the name Rocca dei Papi (fortress of the Pope). It has survived eras of glorious splendor followed by a besieging from Emperor Henry IV (the King of the Germans) in 1093. 

Along with the imposing Castle on the hilltop is the grand domed Montefiascone Cathedral. It was built on an existing church starting in 1396 but the dome was not completed until 1602 when it was burned during a “Good Friday” celebration. The existing dome was repaired in 1674, thus it took three centuries to complete the dome. However since 1674 it has dominated the horizon and added allure to the Hill top town of Montefiascone along with the Castle that stands silent and strong overlooking its beautiful kingdom encompassing lake Bolsena and the enchanting countryside.

This region is also known for its natural hot springs, called “Terme”, in Italian. There is a famous hotspring called Terme di Papa, the hotspring of the Pope. This hotspring is a large pool fed by the Bullicame Spring so it is full of natural minerals and you can immediately feel the benefit to your skin. Visitors can enjoy the day plunging into the natural therapeutic waters or enjoy the jacuzzi or natural grotto. The admission cost is €12 but make sure you bring your own flip flops or slippers and towel and robe otherwise it will cost you extra to purchase them.

In the area of Viterbo there were also more inexpensive Terme options like Bagnaccio. This natural hot spring has an entrance fee of €6 and has various pools of different temperatures but It is not fancy and the water is milky white. There are little wooden changing rooms and a vast expanse of lawn so you are welcome to bring a picnic basket and a blanket and sit on the lawn. It’s a great place to soak up the sun in between bathing in the waters. The area is flat all around with no buildings blocking the view of Sunset. The pools are made of white concrete and during the weekend they can be packed full of bikini and Speedo clad Italians. They love to flock together basking and talking in the therapeutic water, but be prepared, personal space does have the same importance as it does to us Americans. But it soothed our sore muscles and felt good under the early spring sunshine that has not yet reached summer strength. We left Bagnaccio hot spring with the setting sun on the horizon, we needed to meet up with our friends that were just arriving back at our house in the Medieval city of Montefiascone.

We met our friends in the upper parking lot of the hilltop of Montefiascone. Here on the top of the hill is the Castle Rocco de Papi and the Dome Cathedral overlooking the beautiful valleys and lake sparkling below. It’s a perfect place for viewing the sunset on the horizon. We met our friends just in time to snap a few pictures in the majestic glow of the setting sun. 

We felt the gnaw of hunger so began our decent down the dark grey cobblestone streets that wind through narrow Medieval streets of Montefiascone. We located the large heavy wooden door of our rental house and swung the door open using the large brass key that is older than our country (the USA).

Upon entering the Medieval house we are greeted by a roomy kitchen beckoning us to start dinner. The large wood dining room table was set warmly in front of the fireplace hearth. The fireplace was large enough to roast a whole pig and was kindly stocked with freshly cut wood. On the wall hung a oil painting of two women sitting in front of a fireplace that looked remarkably similar to the one in our kitchen. The women in the picture are cooking their meal in the fire and wear clothes of a medieval period. What a strange feeling to be here in this kitchen realizing that women have been cooking here for over 400 years. How the generations of women have changed in their clothing, lifestyle and cooking in those years that marched on in this medieval house. 

We climb the elegant winding marble staircase and reached the second floor. I honestly felt like I should be in a taffeta dress with velvet slippers as I made my ascent up the stairs with the brass chandelier overhead illuminating the way. On the second floor was a large sitting room outfitted with large soft brown leather couches. The couches were arranged around another large fireplace hearth that beckoned me to curl up with a blanket surrounded by the warmth of candles.

Two large French doors were at the other end of the room and led out to a balcony overlooking the cobblestone streets below. The next morning the morning light spilled into the room encouraging me to step outside and enjoy my morning cup of coffee while watching the abandoned streets below. 

The most fascinating part of the House was on the ground floor beyond the kitchen. When we turned the brass key in the ancient door keyhole and shoved the door open we were led into the underground caves of the house. It felt cold and dark in the cave but we turned on the dim lights overhead and a large dining room table slowly came into view. A perfect place to host a wine tasting party, sitting here at the rustic slab of a table under the curved dark ceiling of the cave. We ventured further into the cave and felt that we might soon inter the labyrinth of the Phantom of the Opera! We squinted our eyes into the darkness of the cave and could just see him rowing his canoe in the dark waters. We closed our eyes and shook our head, no, there was no labyrinth and no Phantom, just a cave that had been used for hundreds of years to store wine and other fruits or vegetables that could last longer here in the coolness of the cave. We ventured out of the cave and back into the warm kitchen, making sure to lock the door to the cave behind us…just in case there was a Phantom…

It was time to prepare dinner! There had been a pot of Ragu simmering on the stove full of pork ribs and sausage. I got busy making polenta while our friends husband started building our kitchen fire.

Soon wine was poured and chairs were brought around the table in front of the crackling fire. We talked about our days experiences as we prepared the rest of our meal.

Salad, bread and cheeses, pasta with pesto and of course my polenta with Ragu. We ate and talked over the crackle and pop of the wood fire just like they have done in this kitchen for hundreds of years.

The next morning after soaking up the morning sun on my balcony overlooking the street, we were ready to explore more of the area. But first, cappuccino and cornetto at the local bar, as is Italian tradition.

There were so many things I wanted to see in this area, there are several Villas with Gardens to visit such as Villa Lante, Villa Farnese and Bomarzo. All three gardens were planned and developed by two wealthy cardinals and a nobleman in the 1500’s. We ended up visiting only Bomarzo and only because it was nearest to our location. I still wonder how the other Villas and gardens would have been but that will have to wait for another time, after all you only have so many hours in a day. 

On our last day in this corner of Italy we visited the lakeside town of Bolsena, a lovely town to eat a seafood lunch on the lakeside restaurant followed by a gelato while strolling along the lakeside. We could just imagine renting this house again in the summer with a large group of friends and enjoy the beach and lakeside of Bolsena during the day and retreat to our Ancient Medieval house in Montefiascone in the evening. I imagine eating dinner at 9:00 pm in the coolness of the dark wine cellar at the large wooden table. The dark curved cave ceiling overhead illuminated by the candles melting on the table below,  candles lit along the path and tucked into every corner. Friends gathered around the table laughing and talking about the days adventures while sipping wine and slurping pasta. Yes, I was already dreaming of our next trip to Montefiascone.

For Other Great Travel Stories from Italy in our Archives:

A Morning Run in Nettuno (Published September 10, 2017)

A Visit to Castelli Romani (Published September 13, 2017)

Dinner for Six (Published October 1, 2017)

Italian Cooking School (Published October 8, 2017)

Culinary Tour of Napoli (Published November 17, 2017)

Changing Seasons in Italy (Published November 25, 2017)

Our Trip to Englands Cotswolds (Published January 12, 2018)

Cooking with Pasquale (Published January 28, 2018)

A Tour of the Garden of Ninfa (Published May 7, 2018)

A Trip to Montefiascone (Published May 17, 2018)

San Gimignano, a visit to a Tuscan Hill Town (Published June 9, 2018)

Tuscan Hot Springs of San Filippo & Saturnia (Published June 13, 2018)