BISENZIO. - Ancient episcopal see of Latium on the western shore of Lake Bolsena. An inscription of 254 mentions the «Senatus populusque Visentinus» (CIL, XI, 2914). In the passage of the Dialogues of St. Gregory (III, 17), which mentions a «Quadragesimus baxentinae" or "buxentinae ecclesiae subdiaconus," L. Duchesne saw the first mention of the diocese of B., against the opinion of those who referred it to Busento in Lucania. Since it is said in the aforementioned passage that Quadragesimo used to feed his flock "in Aureliae partibus," it was right to look for the "ecclesia baxentina" or "buxentina" in Tuscia, as F. Ughelli did, though he read "Bulcentinae" or "Bolciensis ecclesiae," because of the proximity of Vulci to the via Aurelia. The expression "in Aureliae partibus" must be interpreted broadly; thus B. too, not far from Valentano and from the ruins of Castro, can be considered "in Aureliae partibus." During the Lombard invasion the bishop of B. would have moved to Castro (v.), keeping the official name which reappears in 743 as "Bisuntianus episcopus."

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Ughelli, X, p. 189; L. Duchesne, Le sedi episcopali nell'antico ducato di Roma, in Archivio della R. Soc. Rom. di Storia Patria, 15 (1892), pp. 487, 489; Lanzoni, pp. 527-28.

Benedetto Pesci

@incollection{ec2_bisenzio, author = {Pesci, Benedetto}, title = {Bisenzio}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {II}, pages = {1674--1675}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/bisenzio} }

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