Montefiascone is a charming and very ancient city of Latium; so ancient that its origins are shrouded in the the mist that envelops the strange race of the Etruscans. It crowns the mass dominating one end of the Lago di Bolsena, and its hillsides are famous for their excellent wine. Erected into an episcopal see in 1369, it has numbered in its long line of titulars several conspicuous personalities; amongst others Alessandro farnese, later Pope Paul III, and, during Maria Caecilia's own lifetime Cardinal Pompeo Aldobrandini.