Acquapendente - Basilica Santo Sepolcro

A document from Emperor Otto I, dated 964, contains the first recorded use of the name Acquapendentem which means "hanging water", from several waterfalls on the boundary between Lazio and Tuscany.

Acquapendente was a stop along the Via Francigena in Italy. At the end of the 14th century, it was part of Siena. n 1449 it became an independent center within the Papal States.

In 1649, Acquapendente became the seat of a diocese. The diocese continued in existence until 1986 when its territory was added to that of Viterbo. Though it is no longer a residential bishopric it is listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.

According to tradition, the founding of the church goes back to Saint Mathilde, the mother of Otto I the Great. She stopped here on her journey to Rome and had a church built here while she was pregnant.

Today's church was initially used as a Benedictine monastery church. With the creation of the Diocese of Acquapendente in 1649, the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral. The Romanesque basilica was rebuilt several times in the course of the 18th century and given a baroque touch. Unfortunately, the church was locked.