Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

BOLSENA (anc. Volsinii)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 179 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

BOLSENA (anc. See also:Volsinii) ,' a See also:town of the See also:province of See also:Rome, See also:Italy, 12 M. W.S.W. of See also:Orvieto by road, situated on the See also:north-See also:east See also:bank of the See also:lake of Bolsena. Pop. (1901) 3286. The town is dominated by a picturesque See also:medieval See also:castle, and contains the See also:church of S. See also:Christina (martyred by drowning in the lake, according to the See also:legend, in 278) which See also:dates from the IIth See also:century and contains some frescoes, perhaps of the school of See also:Giotto. It has a See also:fine See also:Renaissance See also:facade, constructed about 1500 by See also:Cardinal Giovanni de' See also:Medici (afterwards See also:Pope See also:Leo X.), and some See also:good terra cottas by the Della Robbia. Beneath the church are catacombs, with the See also:tomb of the See also:saint, discovered in 188o (E. See also:Stevenson in Notizie degli Scavi, 188o, 262; G. B. de See also:Rossi in Bullettino d'Archeologia Cristiana, 188o, See also:log). At one of the altars in this See also:crypt occurred the See also:miracle of Bolsena in 1263.

A Bohemian See also:

priest, sceptical of the See also:doctrine of See also:transubstantiation, was convinced of its truth by the See also:appearance of drops of See also:blood on the See also:host he was consecrating. In See also:commemoration of this Pope See also:Urban IV. instituted the festival of Corpus Christi, and ordered the erection of the See also:cathedral of Orvieto. The miracle forms the subject of a celebrated See also:fresco by See also:Raphael in the Vatican. The Lake of Bolsena (anc. Lacus Volsiniensis), 'coo ft. above See also:sea-level, 71 sq. m. in See also:area, and 48o ft. deep, is almost circular, and was the central point of a large volcanic See also:district, though it is probably not itself an See also:extinct See also:crater. Its sides show fine basaltic formation in places. It abounds in See also:fish, but its See also:banks are some-what deserted and not See also:free from See also:malaria. It contains two islands, Bisentina and Martana, the former containing a church constructed by Vignola, the latter remains of the castle where See also:Amalasuntha, the daughter of See also:Theodoric, was imprisoned and strangled. (T.

End of Article: BOLSENA (anc. Volsinii)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
BOLOGNA, GIOVANNI DA (1524–1608) 		[next]
BOLSOVER

Site © 2006 - Net Industries