The Lake of Bracciano...just outside Rome..!

Bracciano  is a small town in the region of Lazio, 30 km northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake (Lago di Bracciano, the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle. The lake is widely used for sailing and is popular with tourists; the castle has hosted a number of events, especially weddings of actors and singers.

The town is served by an urban railway which connects it with Rome  in about 55 minutes. Close to it lie the two medieval towns of Anguillara Sabazia and Trevignano Romano.

The main monument of Bracciano is its castle, Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, one of the most noteworthy examples of Renaissance military architecture in Italy.

3 km outside the city, alongside the road leading to Trevignano Romano, is the ancient church of San Liberato.

The lake is an important tourist attraction situated near Rome. As it serves as a drinking water reservoir for the city of Rome it has been under control since 1986 in order to avoid pollution of its waters. The use of motorboats is strictly forbidden, and a centralised sewer system has been built for all the bordering towns in order to avoid any spoiling of the water quality. This makes Bracciano one of the cleanest lakes of Italy. The absence of motorized navigation favours sailing, canoeing and swimming.

In the last few years the lake and its surroundings have been brought under further protection by the creation of a regional park, the Parco Regionale del complesso lacuale di Bracciano Martignano.