San Lorenzo Nuovo - History - The Old Village

The Old Village

Before 1774, the old village of San Lorenzo alle Grotte was located in the lowlands closer to Lake Bolsena than the current village. This ancient hamlet was named after the numerous surrounding caves (grotte). It had been inhabited by the Etruscans since 770 BCE. During the Roman Empire, San Lorenzo was elected municipium and prefecture. According to tradition, during the fifth-century invasions of the Vandals, the inhabitants had asked for protection from the heavens; on the feast of Saint Apollinare, a dense fog came down and the invaders spared the town. In 771–772, refugees came here from Tiro, a small centre placed on the hill of Civita (later "Svignata"), when the original Etruscan town of Grotte di Castro was destroyed by the Longobards under king Desiderius. It was in this area, according to Roman Martyrology, where Saint Christina of Bolsena would have been martyrized.

San Lorenzo alle Grotte had been always of strategic importance, owing to its position along the Via Cassia, in a central position for the interests of Orvieto, Viterbo and Sovana, and was contended for by local noblemen and the Church. In 1113 the area was donated to the Church by Matilda of Canossa, countess of Tuscany. The same area was sacked by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI in 1186. The opposition of Pope Celestine III, mediated by the bishop of Sovana, to the direct interference of the bishops of Orvieto over this area is recorded in a document dated 28 June 1183.

Towards 1265, together with neighbouring lands (Grotte di Castro, Latera, Gradoli, Bisentina island), the same area became part of the province of Val di Lago, ruled by Republic of Orvieto for a short time. In 1266, San Lorenzo took part of the Ghibellines expedition against Martana Island and other Guelphs centres but the next year it renewed its obedience to the Church. In 1294, San Lorenzo and other centres of Val di Lago, professed submission to Orvieto. It was the beginning of a series of disputes with Pope Boniface VIII. Orvieto, once excommunicated and placed under interdict, stopped any action contrary to the Church. This was not the intention of San Lorenzo, claiming actions against Orvieto. On 20 March 1298, Boniface VIII ordered to stop all hostilities and let Orvieto's army occupy the castle of San Lorenzo. Although returned to Orvieto's jurisdiction, the centres of Val di Lago resisted paying their tribute for three years. In 1315, San Lorenzo was involved in the fights between Orvieto and the papal legate Bernard of Cluny, being defeated at Montefiascone by Guittuccio of Bisenzio. In 1318, San Lorenzo supported with 25 infantries Orvieto against Ugolinuccio de' Neri of Montemarano. In 1354, in the presence of Gil Alvarez De Albornoz, all villages of Val di Lago confirmed their submission to Orvieto. In 1359, the Republic of Orvieto was abolished and Cardinal Albornoz brought San Lorenzo again under the jurisdiction of the papacy.

In 1527, the landsknechts, on their way to Rome, burnt San Lorenzo, Bolsena and Montefiascone. An agreement was achieved between San Lorenzo and Grotte di Castro about rights and duties of land owners residing in their respective territories.

In the early 1630s, a painting of a view of San Lorenzo was produced by the visiting Flemish painter Bartholomeus Breenbergh. Known as a pastoral landscape with a citadel, an engraving by the Swiss engravers Balthasar Anton Dunker and Robert Daudet is the inverse image of Breenbergh painting.