Bolsena

Bolsena has been mentioned many times before on News From Italy but for the benefit of those of you that are new followers I am featuring a recent visit. I did not think those of you that have been reading about our life in Italy for a few years now, would mind taking another stroll around this lovely old town. It has always proved to be a favourite place in the area for visitors, so it was no surprise when our daughter suggested we went there for lunch one day while she was here in July.

Centro Storico

View from the Centro Storico towards the lake.

The town of Bolsena takes its name from the lake of the same name, it is on the north eastern shores of Lago di Bolsena.  Bolsena has I think a much more touristy seaside feel to it than the other towns surrounding the lake, with more in the way of camp-sites, agriturismo’s, hotels and holiday homes it attracts a lot of holiday makers. The resident population of around 4,000 normally grows to approximately 10,000 during the summer months.  The town is in the province of Viterbo in Northern Lazio and is on the eastern shores of the lake. It is 10km to the north-west of Montefiascone and 36km in the same direction from Viterbo. The old Via Cassia follows the lake shore for some distance and passes through Bolsena.

After working up an appetite and thirst in the intense heat exploring the hilly streets of the centro storico we decided to go down to the lake for lunch at Trattoria del Moro.

The Trattoria del Moro opened in 1949 in the exact spot where it is now. The restaurant takes its name from the founder, well known by locals, "Moro" (The Moor), the father of the current owner, who with his own family is carrying on the tradition. The main restaurant is a unique structure that resembles a primitive dwelling built on stilts, known locally as 'Pagota' 

There are more photos of the restaurant on their website Trattoria del Moro and reviews, including mine on  Trip Advisor

It will be no surprise to those of you that know me that I took many more photos than those featured in the post. The full selection can be viewed on Flickr.com in my album entitled Bolsena or by watching this video that I made, very amateur but it was fun to do, although I have a lot to learn about this process.

                                                      Bolsena Snapshots - July 2012

If you are interested in learning more historical facts and other information you can always visit Bolsena - Wikipedia or the InTuscia.com website pages on Bolsena.