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| Lake of Bracciano,with tiny Lake Martiginano to the right |
During the
more than 35 years that I lived in the city of Rome on a typical spring weekend we would drive north along the Via Cassia to visit one of the medieval towns or beaches on
the lovely lakes of Bracciano, Vico or Bolsena. I had barely heard of, and never
visited, the tiny volcanic lake of Martignano, adjacent to Bracciano and now part of a protected
Regional Park that
is 13 years old.
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| a stretch of Etruscan road leading to Lake Martignano |
Off the
radar for contemporary Romans, Martignano
was popular with ancient Romans such as Emperor Augustus who had an aqueduct built to carry water to the inhabitants of Rome's Trastevere quarter, 33 kilomtres away.
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| Lake Martiginano in winter |
Then for centuries the lake was off limits, incorporated into one of those huge estates belonging to papal nobility such as
the Odescalchi who also owned Bassano Romano .
These centuries of seclusion meant that Martignano remained
virtually unknown and unvisited, allowing it to remain in pristine condition and making it today the perfect getaway for nature lovers, bikers, trekkers and birdwatchers.
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| the ruins of the original farm buildings and the lawn beach |
During our
visit, besides the two park rangers who
narrated a bit of the Park’s history, we
also met the mythical Giorgio
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| Giorgio and the park rangers |
who ran the canoe and boat concession back in the
80s when the only living beings around the lake were grazing sheep and cattle and the
occasional migrating wildfowl.
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| Beach entrance : one for people and one for dogs |
Now the area comprised in the Natural Park (and bordering
towns of Anguillara, Bracciano,
Trevignano,Cesano and Campagnano) plays host to numerous
groups of sailing, horsebackriding, biking and
birdwatching groups.
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| horses await riders at the Casale di Martiginano |
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| learning about the lake |
On the day
we visited the lake and the spectacular Potrero Grande Agriturismo,
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| with Livia, owner of Potrero Grande |
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| Livia shows us around the luxury apartments |
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entrance to Potrero Grande
|
we ran into bikers, couples
on horseback and a group of more than 50 birdwatchers who were
walking around the lake, counting, photographing and designing
the bird species they encountered.
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| antipasto - salumi and cheeses produced on site |
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| wine awaiting the diners |
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| Fulvio, Santino, Alessio and Alessandra enjoy the abundant buffet at Casale di Martignano |
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| soft cantuccini, home made, of course .. |
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| ...and crostate for dessert |
At
lunch time we all convened at
Casale di Martignano for a buffet lunch followed by a seminar on one of the rare species that inhabits the lake.
Have you been to Lake Martignano? Do you know of other natural areas where one can practice sports, birdwatching close to Rome ? Please leave comments and suggestions of things to do in this area, so close to Rome, yet immersed in the beautiful countryside.
Have you been to Lake Martignano? Do you know of other natural areas where one can practice sports, birdwatching close to Rome ? Please leave comments and suggestions of things to do in this area, so close to Rome, yet immersed in the beautiful countryside.
Looks like a nice day trip from Rome.
ReplyDeleteDo you know the distance from Bracciano to the park? Is it walkable or do you need to take a bus? Assuming you can take a train to Bracciano from Rome.
The station of Anguillara is the closest but Martignano is rather distant, a good hour's walk. However, if you have a bicycle, you can take it on the train and voila'! From central Rome the lake is easily accessible by road in about 40 minutes via Cassia bis/Cesano/Via di Baccanello/Via di Porta Corrazza, this last road a beautiful winding narrow route through gentle rolling hills and pretty vistas. Vehicles need to be left at a clearly marked carpark where shuttle buses provide all day service to the not too distant lake. No private cars are permitted anywhere close. That virtually untouched Lake Martignano is a miracle of survival, there is no doubt! It is a genuine rural retreat offering pristine waters, a forest with its hidden Etruscan tombs, some very relaxing inexpensive eateries with simple seating under the acacia trees. Giorgio (the guy in the picture with the rangers) IS a character and if asked, will happily go into great detail regarding the lake's history and so forth. He also organises moonlight canoe trips, even for the uninitiated, an enchanting experience in this silent wonder. He can be found at Nauticlub Martignano, on the southern bank (the word "club" is cute there being only a little gazebo and a dozen sailing boats). He also rents out daybeds and umbrellas on a beautifully tended lawn.
DeleteThe station of Anguillara is the closest but Martignano is rather distant, a good hour's walk. However, if you have a bicycle, you can take it on the train and voila'! From central Rome the lake is easily accessible by road in about 40 minutes via Cassia bis/Cesano/Via di Baccanello/Via di Porta Corrazza, this last road a beautiful winding narrow route through gentle rolling hills and pretty vistas. Vehicles need to be left at a clearly marked carpark where shuttle buses provide all day service to the not too distant lake. No private cars are permitted anywhere close. That virtually untouched Lake Martignano is a miracle of survival, there is no doubt! It is a genuine rural retreat offering pristine waters, a forest with its hidden Etruscan tombs, some very relaxing inexpensive eateries with simple seating under the acacia trees. Giorgio (the guy in the picture with the rangers) IS a character and if asked, will happily go into great detail regarding the lake's history and so forth. He also organises moonlight canoe trips, even for the uninitiated, an enchanting experience in this silent wonder. He can be found at Nauticlub Martignano, on the southern bank (the word "club" is cute there being only a little gazebo and a dozen sailing boats). He also rents out daybeds and umbrellas on a beautifully tended lawn.
DeleteThank you so much for posting this! Will make a mental note to check it out one day!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, take a look at the link (in the story) to the park's website and you can get an idea of distances.It seems that the station of Anguillara (not Bracciano) is the closest to Martignano.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary! good article! I hope to see you again in Bracciano e Martignano Park! the wildlife artists in rome are very active and they often go to draw in these biutiful places... let's stay in touch!
ReplyDeletegrazie elisabetta, è stata una bellissima giornata e un buon pranzo -spero di incontrarti di nuovo , magari a Vetralla per un po di Birdwatching with Roberto Gildi..
DeleteAnguillara is the closest station but it is a good hour's walk to the lake. However, you can take a bicycle on the train and voila'! By car it is a convenient 40 minutes drive via the Cassia Bis/Cesano/Via di Baccanello/Via Di Porta Corrazza. This last narrow winding road passes through rolling hills and pretty landscapes and eventually leads to the clearly marked carpark where shuttle buses are provided for access to the lake. No private cars are permitted. Lake Martignano has survived all the ugly development around Rome miraculously unscathed. It is a little shangri-la offering pristine waters, a forest with soaring oaks and hidden Etruscan tombs, and a sweet green landscape. Giorgio, the guy in the picture above with the rangers, IS a character and will happily chat about the history and so forth (in English). He also arranges moonlight canoe trips, even for the uninitiated, and these can be quite the enchanting experience. You can find him at a little gazebo marked "Nauticlub Martignano" overlooking daybeds and umbrellas set up on a well tended green lawn and a little fleet of sailing boats.
ReplyDeleteYou can take the train to Anguillara and then a bus towards the lake (Bracciano), get of at the roundabout and then walk to Martignano (about one and a half hours there), it's a beautiful walk. I tried it by bike once, but the road is too bad. In the summer there is a bus up to the lake, not sure if it runs in the winter.
ReplyDeleteTake a train from Valle Aurelia, Rome to Anguillara, they are usually every half hour except for Sundays. A little yellow bus waits for most of the trains outside the station, get of at the new roundabout on the main road. It will take you around one and a half hours and it is a beautiful walk. You could take a bicycle on the train and cycle there although the track/road is quite bumpy.
ReplyDeleteIt looks a wonderful place to visit. Thank you for introducing me to it. Living in Le Marche its a little too far for a day trip but I think we should definitely find the time to spend a weekend, I'm sure it would be worth it.
ReplyDelete