Making Summer Memories at Bracciano

Bracciano castle's  ivy covered  tower  

 Seeing   local  places  through the eyes of foreign visitors   gives us new insight into things  we usually take for granted.

Last week  I wrote about  our visit to Bracciano   with  Sergey and Tanya  from Moscow  and  our  lake side lunch  at  an old fashioned  trattoria .  

castle ramparts 

sail boats  far below  the castle

Sergey’s  eyes and camera lens  captured  scenes that were special and unusual for  him. 

a brilliant  19th century ball gown 

These included the colors of the  lake, the family of swans  and ducks  and the colorful costumes  exhibited  in the huge castle halls.

Duomo  di Bracciano overlooking the lake 

The  memory of  lake fish, local wine, watermelon   and strong caffe will also  keep  our Russian friends company during the dark days of  the  long Russian  winter. 

Having  passed  four winters in Moscow  I can understand their fascination with the  red tiled rooftops and church steeples, so different from the gilded   churches of Russia. 

They were also  fascinated by the  street lights, the flower filled piazzas and landscapes of lake and rolling  hills .

Piazza  near the castle 

 Since  the guide who accompanied us through the castle spoke only in Italian, our Russian friends  concentrated  on the frescoed rooms furnished with period antiques and managed  to get some close ups of the magnificent costumes  which are  on view until November . 

Renaissance  costumes

a dazzling  1920s gold feathered cape 

  The colorful costumes  enrich  the  historic atmosphere of the  castle’s halls and remind us of those who once  made history here .

armored knight and   horse  in the  main hall, Bracciano 

 No wonder  the   privately  owned Odescalchi  castle

 is a steady  favorite for  weddings and film shoots.

All photos by Sergey  Soloviev

Russians Discover Bracciano

Fulvio, Tanya  and Sergei at Bracciano

During the  torrid days of August  the perfect  day trip from  Rome  should include  a lake, a lunch  and  and a bit of cultural tourism .  

fish platter at La Tramontana, Bracciano

  With this in mind, I organized  to meet our Russian friends Sergei and Tanya  at the half way mark- the Bracciano train station- to enjoy their last day in Italy before  they headed back to the  rigors of Moscow life.

Our first stop  was  a vintage   trattoria  on the lakeside, La Tramontana, where  we enjoyed  an early lunch with  platters of lake fish  and fed  left over  bread to a family of  swans  and ducks. 

The unpretentious  wooden structure with its 1970s  chairs and tables  had  changed very little   since  I had last been there, over  20 years ago.

the lakeside Tramontana , Bracciano

walking up to  Castello Odescalchi 

entrance  to  Castello Odescalchi 

Our Russian friends  were duly impressed with  Castello Odescalchi which we visited after lunch, set high enough above the lake and town to be blessed  with a cool breeze. 

walking the  castle ramparts 

a happy Russian enjoying the lake view

courtyard with visitors 

the Orsini bear  greets  visitors  from Russia

inside the castle kitchens 

While most of  Bracciano’s inhabitants   enjoyed   a well deserved  siesta, our tour guide walked us through the castle and its history. 

Our guide with other Russian visitors

Strangely most of the other members in the  3 o’clock tour   were also vacationing   Russians.   

Tanya on the ramparts 

The frescoed halls,  antique furniture and  historic costumes on display were the perfect  foil for learning a bit about  the Orsini and Odescalchi families and the area’s history.

And never once  was the wedding of Tom Cruise mentioned... 

Coming next week..Sergei's photos of  the castle  and other delights. 

Please leave a comment. Have you visited this castle, or others in central Italy? 

Ten Top Gardens of Central Italy

        

         

Garden in a vase, Hesperides Garden, Viterbo area 

Spring  has finally arrived here in central  Italy and it is time to tour some of  the delightful gardens that  can be found in  Lazio and  Tuscany.

 Here is my personal selection  plus  links to  more information and previous blog posts about  some of those  in the area around Viterbo.

Quirinale Palace, Rome

The magnificent  gardens of the Quirinale Palace in the heart of ancient Rome are part of  the Italian president’s  residence.   I wonder  if  President Giorgio Napolitano ( at  87 years of age, he was  elected  for a   second  seven-year term  yesterday !) ever gets a chance to enjoy a walk  here.  www.quirinale.it

Christina's tulips, see  more on her blog" My Hesperides Garden"

Villa d’Este, Tivoli

Villa d’Este, built by Cardinal Ippolito Este, has  hundreds of fountains and shady avenues. A perfect day trip from Rome when combined with a visit to nearby Hadrian’s Villa,  the archetype of luxury residential architecture. The ruins of the  Hadrian’s Villa have inspired Palladio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Borromini, Piranesi and Canova.    www.villadestetivoli.info     

lavender  explodes in all its perfumed glory in late June and July 

  

Castel Giuliano, Bracciano

 Located on the slope of the Tolfa mountains, the  grounds of Castel Giuliano show  Marchesa Patrizi’s passion  for roses with hundreds of ancient species surrounding Etruscan tombs.  www.castel-giuliano.it

San Liberato Gardens, Bracciano Lake

 Bracciano is set among the Sabatini and Tolfa hills and known for the  imposing  Orsini Odescalchi Castle, built by Napoleone Orsini in 1470. The  Sanminiatelli  family’s castle is surrounded by magnificent  Botanical gardens  of San Liberato, a popular  venue for weddings.   Nearby is  the tiny Lake of Martignano  surrounded by cypress and poplars .  www.sanliberato.it   

Sacro Bosco, Bomarzo

Inscriptions highlighted in red  expressing  Vicino Orsini’s  philosophy  are engraved  on the tufa stone figures, moss covered benches, plaques and architectural follies of the park. www.parcodeimostri.com

Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

This  magnificent pentagonal palace can be considered the height of nepotism, for it was built for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III Farnese. The upper gardens have delightful avenues, giant stone sculptures and a pleasure house.  

Villa Lante, Bagnaia

A great parterre with intricate boxwood embroidery frames the 4-part pool surrounded by balustrades decorated with Cardinal Gambara's crayfish symbol. Moss covered stairs lead to the top of the garden with views over bubbling fountains.  Nearby  is the  Cardinal’s "icebox", Conserva della Neve, where  snow was stored for making sorbets.

Peony Gardens, Vitorchiano

April and May  are the flowering months for the thousands of peony plants of Centro Botanico Moutan . www.centrobotanicomoutan.it

Castello Ruspoli, Vignanello

Beyond the moat of  Castello Ruspoli are  the  raised gardens laid out by Ottavia Orsini, daughter of the creator of Bomarzo’s Sacro Bosco.  The box hedges have intricate designs which  include  the initials of family members. The prince’s secret garden is hidden in a sunken area.  www.castelloruspoli.com  

La Foce, Tuscany

 Iris Origo commissioned  garden  architect Cecil Pinsent,  to create the gardens of La Foce  between 1925 and 1939.  The garden  has geometrical  “rooms” made from box hedges and potted lemon trees, enhanced with wisteria pergolas and lavender hedges.  Part of the large estate, the garden also has a family cemetery.    

For  more information  on  historic and modern gardens,  nature reserves, castles to visit, unusual museums and other treasures  see my website  and order one of the many  books  published  in English (and soon in Italian) about central Italy.

Lake Martignano: a hidden gem near Rome

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.

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. 

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.

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

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.

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.

horses await  riders at the Casale di Martiginano 

learning about the  lake 

On the day we visited the lake and the spectacular Potrero Grande  Agriturismo,

with Livia, owner of Potrero Grande 

Livia  shows us around the luxury  apartments 

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 

wildlife artist  Federico Gemma 

 the bird species they encountered. 

antipasto - salumi and cheeses  produced on site 

wine  awaiting the diners 

Fulvio, Santino, Alessio and Alessandra  enjoy the  abundant  buffet at Casale di Martignano 

soft cantuccini, home made, of course ..

...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.