On the shore of Lake Bolsena, the largest volcanic lake in Europe, the Basilica of Santa Cristina rises over an early-Christian catacomb and the tomb of its young martyr-saint. The church is famous as the site of the Eucharistic Miracle of 1263, when a consecrated host was said to have bled onto the altar. That miracle led Pope Urban IV to establish the feast of Corpus Christi, making Bolsena one of the most significant shrines on the Via Francigena.
Highlights
- Shrine of the 1263 Eucharistic Miracle that founded Corpus Christi
- Legend of St Cristina borne safely ashore on a floating millstone
- Early-Christian catacombs with some 1,600 excavated tombs
- Europe's largest volcanic lake glittering beyond the town
- June's Corpus Christi infiorata of flower-petal carpets
At a glance
| Period | Romanesque (11th century, over early-Christian catacombs) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 23 — Châteauvillain to Langres |
Take care
- Dim catacombs with uneven floors — take them slowly
- Usual lakeside care in town
History
Christian burials began in the catacomb here between the 3rd and 6th centuries, and a church grew over the martyr's tomb, the present building being consecrated by Pope Gregory VII in 1077. Between 1492 and 1494 Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, the future Pope Leo X, gave the basilica its Renaissance facade, adorned with glazed terracottas by the Buglioni in the della Robbia manner. The catacomb was scientifically explored from 1880, when digs led by Giovanni Battista de Rossi revealed some 1,600 tombs.
Myth & legend
Tradition holds that the 3rd-century child saint Cristina was tortured and thrown into Lake Bolsena tied to a millstone, but the stone floated and carried her safely to shore. The 'miraculous stone', bearing the imprint of her feet, is venerated in the basilica to this day.
Geology
The lake beside the basilica fills a caldera: around 300,000 years ago the Vulsini volcanoes emptied their magma reservoirs in colossal explosive eruptions and the ground collapsed into the void, leaving a basin that slowly filled with water. Everything local is volcanic, from the dark tuff in which the catacombs are cut to the fertile ashy soils, while the lake's two islands are the tops of later underwater eruptions.
Wildlife & nature
The clear volcanic lake below the basilica is unusually rich in birds: great crested and little grebes, coot, red-crested pochard, little bittern, grey heron and cormorants, with black kites overhead in summer. Reed beds, oak and chestnut woods and olive groves cover the crater rim, and fallow deer, porcupines and martens live in the woods inland.
The view
The basilica's Renaissance front conceals a layered world of Romanesque naves, the miracle grotto and catacombs, with the great volcanic lake glittering beyond the town.
Photography
Morning light favours the facade on its small piazza; pair the visit with lake-shore shots at sunset, when the crater rim and islands turn violet across the water.
When to visit
June brings the Corpus Christi infiorata, when flower-petal carpets line the streets; summer fills the lakeside with holidaymakers, while spring and autumn stay calm.
Getting there
No railway reaches Bolsena: buses connect with Viterbo and with Orvieto, the nearest mainline station, while the Francigena descends to the lake from Acquapendente.
Where to stay
Convent guesthouses near the basilica welcome pilgrims with the credential, and lakeside campsites, B&Bs and small hotels give plenty of choice in season.
Food & water
Fountains in the old town and along the lakefront make topping up easy; carry ample water for the exposed climb onward to Montefiascone above the crater rim.
Safety
The catacombs are dim with uneven floors — take them slowly. Usual lakeside care in town. In an emergency dial 112.
Accessibility
The basilica entrance is close to street level, but the grotto and catacombs involve steps and uneven ancient floors; the old town climbs steeply behind the shore.
Visitor tips
Ask at the basilica for a timbro and see the miracle chapel and Santa Cristina's floating stone; an evening swim in the lake is a beloved pilgrim reward in summer.
The guide, in full
The written guide to this site.
You have come down through the hills to the shore of a sea that is not a sea. Lake Bolsena fills the crater of an ancient volcano, the largest volcanic lake in Europe, and its silvery light follows you through the lanes of the old town to the doorstep of the Basilica of Santa Cristina. The church wears a graceful Renaissance front added at the close of the fourteen hundreds, brightened with glazed terracotta, but step through the door and you move back through the centuries: the basilica behind it is Romanesque, consecrated in the year ten seventy-seven by Pope Gregory the Seventh, and beneath it lie catacombs from the earliest Christian centuries. Everything here begins with a girl. Cristina, tradition says, was the child of a noble pagan family in the third century who embraced the new faith. For refusing to give it up she endured trial after trial; thrown into the lake with a millstone bound to her, she did not sink, for the stone floated and bore her gently back to the shore. In the basilica you can see the venerated stone itself, marked, the faithful say, with the print of her small feet, and down in the catacombs is the tomb where the young martyr was laid to rest. For a thousand years pilgrims on the Via Francigena have turned aside to honour her. Then, in the year twelve sixty-three, this quiet shrine witnessed one of the most consequential events in medieval Christendom. A priest from Bohemia, Peter of Prague, paused here on his pilgrimage to Rome. He was a good man wrestling with doubt: he could not quite believe that the bread of the Mass truly became the body of Christ. As he said Mass at the altar in the grotto, the story tells, the consecrated host began to bleed, staining the corporal, the linen cloth beneath it, and the marble of the altar. Shaken, he carried the news to Pope Urban the Fourth, who was residing at Orvieto nearby. The Pope examined the case, and within a year he had instituted a new feast for the whole Church: Corpus Christi, still celebrated across the world more than seven centuries on. Stand in the grotto now, before the Altar of the Miracle beneath its rare early-medieval stone canopy, and you are at the source of it all. The stained corporal was carried in triumph to Orvieto, where it rests in the cathedral built to enshrine it, while the marble stones marked in twelve sixty-three remain here in Bolsena, honoured in a Baroque chapel raised for them at the end of the sixteen hundreds. One day soon, when you finally reach Rome and stand in the Vatican, you may find yourself before Raphael's great fresco of the Mass at Bolsena, and you will be able to say quietly: I stood in the very place. Each July the people of Bolsena still transform their lanes into living pictures of Cristina's story, a devotion the town has kept for generations. When you are ready, walk back out into the light and down to the water. Dip your hand in the lake that would not let a child sink, look across to its two green islands, and take the road south along the shore. Montefiascone waits on its hill, and Rome is drawing near.
Common questions
How old is Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena?
Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena dates from the Romanesque (11th century, over early-Christian catacombs) period.
How do I get to Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena?
No railway reaches Bolsena: buses connect with Viterbo and with Orvieto, the nearest mainline station, while the Francigena descends to the lake from Acquapendente.
Is Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena accessible?
The basilica entrance is close to street level, but the grotto and catacombs involve steps and uneven ancient floors; the old town climbs steeply behind the shore.
When is the best time to visit Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena?
June brings the Corpus Christi infiorata, when flower-petal carpets line the streets; summer fills the lakeside with holidaymakers, while spring and autumn stay calm.
Is there food and water at Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena?
Fountains in the old town and along the lakefront make topping up easy; carry ample water for the exposed climb onward to Montefiascone above the crater rim.
Where can I stay near Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena?
Convent guesthouses near the basilica welcome pilgrims with the credential, and lakeside campsites, B&Bs and small hotels give plenty of choice in season.
What should I know before visiting Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena?
Ask at the basilica for a timbro and see the miracle chapel and Santa Cristina's floating stone; an evening swim in the lake is a beloved pilgrim reward in summer.
Is Basilica of Santa Cristina, Bolsena safe to visit?
The catacombs are dim with uneven floors — take them slowly. Usual lakeside care in town. In an emergency dial 112.
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