The wine Est! Est!! Est!!! and a great dome above Lake Bolsena
Montefiascone stands on the rim of the Bolsena crater, at over 600 metres, with one of the finest views over the lake. Its skyline is dominated by the huge dome of the cathedral of Santa Margherita, one of the largest in Italy, and by the Rocca dei Papi, a fortress where popes stayed in the Middle Ages, now a park with a panoramic tower.
The town is famous for its white wine, Est! Est!! Est!!!, whose name comes from a legend: in 1111 a German bishop travelling to Rome sent his servant ahead to mark with the word "Est" ("there is") the inns with good wine. In Montefiascone the servant was so enthusiastic that he wrote it three times. The bishop stayed and, according to tradition, his tomb is in the church of San Flaviano, a curious double church, one above the other.
Tip: in August the Fiera del Vino celebrates the local wine; walk from the Rocca dei Papi down to the lake along the old Via Francigena.
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