Surrounded by the chain of mountains Vulsini, in the province of Viterbo, Lake Bolsena reaches a width of about 115 km² and is the largest volcanic basin of Italy. Traces its origins hundreds of thousands of years ago, when the newly created territory formed fractures that caused explosions, spill of ashes and large flows of magmae.
Surrounding landscape and the concave shape of the lake make this area one of the most beautiful in Italy.

The history of the lake and the people who have lived have an archaeological, historical and legendary background that can only fascinate the visitor: the lake is about 151 meters deep and leaves infer the presence of a large amount of fresh sweet water. In the lake there are two islands of volcanic origin, the Bisentina Island and the Martana Island, which are few meters from the coastline.
Those islands emerged about 132,000 years ago and are privately owned. Only the Bisentina Island can be visited: it has a rich lush vegetation and is covered by a thick forest of Mediterranean plants with ancient oaks, ash, poplar and plane trees.
The island bears traces of ancient history: there are seven rural churches all built between the XV and XVI century, including Mount Calvario (or Mount Crucifixion) in which houses, in the last wall, the fresco of Christ Crucified, next to St. Francis and St. Bernardino, Our Lady and St. John the Evangelist.

The Martana Island shows only the remains of the fortress and the church of Santo Stefano so that all the ancient and numerous buildings were largely demolished and the materials transported to Marta for the construction of the church of Madonna del Monte.
Looks like a lonely rock barren at a first sight but it is populated by numerous colonies of water birds. There are subtle evidence of Etruscan, represented by a memorial stone, but nothing definite evidence settlements on the island in Roman times. According to a legend, however, was held captive in a tower on top of the island, at the behest of Pope Urban IV, the little Cristina, martyr and patron saint of Bolsena, since disavowed the Christian faith. During the barbarian invasions, the island became a safe haven for people fleeing from the centers located around the lake. Despite the lack of ruins testify the presence of fortified structures of the that time, the tradition passed down the legend of the tragic queen Amalasunta, daughter of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, who was imprisoned in a tower by Teodato and killed in 535 AD.