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TRADIZIONS AND USAGES AT BOLSENA:
The
most spectacular and important event in Bolsena from the
point of view of historical and cultural traditions is the
representation of the Mysteries.
As sacred representations they probably originated in the
Middle Ages, modeled on the "Passion" of Saint
Cristina, dating to the 5th century.
The evening of July 23rd, the simulacrum
of the Saint is transferred from the basilica church that
bears her name to the Church of Santissimo Salva-tore, in
the Castello district.
As the procession that accompanies the statue moves
on, the tortures the child martyr was subject to
are represented as "living pictures" (with a few
exceptions) on five stages set up alongthe route.
On the morning of the 24th,
the procession retraces its steps and five other scenes
of torture are represented on the stages used the evening
before.
The scenes usually shown are: the wheel,
the furnace, the boulder, the lake, the devils, the whips,
and the serpents, the cutting of the tongue, the arrows,
and the burial.
In the course of the centuries these scenes have changed
somewhat, with the exception of those with devils and serpents
that appear in the oldest descriptions of these events.
Undoubtedly the scene of the martyrdom with serpents is
the most spectacular since real snakes,
captured on the preceding days in the surrounding countryside,
are used.
Hundreds of local people participate in this event, in particular
the young, proudly committed to keeping up
a tradition that has continued uninterruptedly throughout
the course of centuries.
The "infiorate of Corpus Domini"at Bolsena:
Flower carpets for the feast of Corpus Christii
very year for the feast of Corpus Christii the entire historical
center of Bolsena is carpeted in a floral tapestry
around two kilometers long spread out alongthe route of
the procession, indudingthe narrow lanes of the
medieval quarter.
This floral decoration is the fruit of the initiative of
a group of citizens who gather the flowers
and then design and execute the decorations.
The flowers are gathered a few days before
the festivities, usually early in the morningwhentheirfresh-ness
and fragrance has not yet been withered by the sun.
They are then kept in cool dark places
until they are needed.
The most commonly used flowers are broom,
acacia (flowers and leaves), roses, forget-me-nots, briar
roses, clover, thistle flowers, vetch and hop, ferns.
The designs, generally the simple repetition of
geometric figures, rarely figural, are sketched
out on paper or, the same day, on the paving.
The designs are outlined either with coffee grounds,
sawdust painted black or with chestnut inflorescences steeped
in water.
The various parts of the design are then
filled in with flowers or flower petals, and sprinkled every
so often with water so they will not be blown away by the
wind.
The fruit of this dedicated work,that sometimes begins late
in the morning and continues till late afternoon, is short-lived.
When the procession arrives, in particular when the Blessed
Sacrament passes, the floral carpet is trodden on
and all that remains on the ground are indistinct spots
of color and a unique and ineffable fragrance.
Hydrangea Festival at Bolsena
City:
In addition to the traditional Infibrate (carpets
of flower petals on the streets), for some years now Bolsena
has been the "Hydrangea City"
with a festival dedicated to this magnificent
plant.
It is generally held in the last weekend of June and lasts
three days when some of the best-known Italian nurserymen
from all over Italy turn the streets of the medieval
hamlet into an immense flowering garden.
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BOLSENA 
