What is Bracciano known for?

1470-1485 Renaissance fortress by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, one of the best-preserved military castles in Italy. Volcanic crater lake at 164 meters, eighth largest in Italy and the source of part of Rome's aqueduct supply. Married Katie Holmes in the castle on 18 November 2006; the international event that put Bracciano on world tabloid maps.

Bracciano is a comune in the province of Roma, Lazio region of Italy, about 40 kilometers from Roma.

Lazio · Roma

Bracciano

The Lazio lake town with the eighth-largest lake in Italy below it and one of the best-preserved Renaissance castles in the country above it.

40 km / 25 mi

Nearest hub (Roma)

18,380

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Bracciano standsabove the southern shore of Lago di Bracciano, the volcanic crater lake known historically as Sabatino, the eighth largest in Italy. The Castello Orsini-Odescalchi was begun by Napoleone Orsini in 1470 and completed by his son Virginio Gentile in 1485; the architect was Francesco di Giorgio Martini. It is one of the better-preserved examples of Renaissance military architecture in Italy, a five-towered pentagon on a polygonal base, with frescoes by Antoniazzo Romano and the Zuccari brothers. The Orsini lost it through debt in 1696 to Livio Odescalchi, nephew of Pope Innocent XI; the Odescalchi still own it. Bracciano supplies a significant part of Rome's drinking water through the aqueduct that begins in the lake. The town is also a hazelnut commune, member of the Città della Nocciola network. Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes in the castle in November 2006, which is how most people outside Italy heard of the place.

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Known for

Castello Orsini-Odescalchi
1470-1485 Renaissance castle, five round towers on a pentagonal plan, frescoes by Antoniazzo Romano and the Zuccari brothers.
Lago di Bracciano
Volcanic crater lake, eighth largest in Italy at 57 square kilometers, source of part of Rome's drinking water.
Centro storico
Medieval town below the castle walls, organized in concentric rings around the rocca, with two surviving medieval gates.
Collegiata di Santo Stefano
16th-century parish church with works by the Zuccari school and a relief by Giulio Mazzoni.
Parco Regionale di Bracciano-Martignano
Regional park covering the two volcanic crater lakes and their wooded shorelines, established in 1999.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the lake season. May and June bring the warmest weather without the August crowd from Rome; the shore villages of Anguillara and Trevignano fill on weekends and empty mid-week. July and August are hot and busy. Powerboats are banned on the lake; swimming, sailing and kayaking are the standard summer uses. September is one of the strongest months: warm water, thinning crowds, and the castle on full schedule. November through March is quiet. The castle stays open on weekends. The hazelnut harvest runs in late August and September; the surrounding hills are part of the Cimini-Sabatini hazelnut belt.