Lake Bracciano fills an ancient volcanic crater about forty kilometres north-west of Rome, and from the castle walls of the town that bears its name, the water stretches out almost perfectly round, ringed by wooded hills. The lake is a reserve of drinking water for Rome, and motorboats are heavily restricted, which keeps the water clean and the atmosphere peaceful. In summer, Romans come to swim from the black volcanic sand beaches and eat lake fish in the restaurants along the shore.
The town of Bracciano is dominated by the Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, a magnificent fifteenth-century fortress with round towers, built by the Orsini family, one of the great baronial clans of medieval and Renaissance Rome. It is one of the best-preserved castles in Italy, with frescoed rooms, armour and views over the lake, and it has been used for films and celebrity weddings, including that of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in 2006. The old town around the castle is a maze of narrow streets.
The lake is ringed by a road that links Bracciano with the other lakeside towns, Anguillara Sabazia and Trevignano Romano, each with its own character and restaurants. The road is pleasant rather than challenging, with gentle curves through woods and along the shore, and views across the water. In the hills around the lake, the roads become more winding, passing through chestnut woods and hazelnut groves, and Lake Martignano, a smaller crater lake nearby, is a quiet place for a swim.
Bracciano has bars, restaurants and fuel, and it is an easy place for a lunch stop. The traffic can be heavy on summer weekends, when Romans flock to the lake, and the roads from Rome, especially the Via Braccianese, are often congested. Weekdays are much quieter. The best time to come is late spring or early autumn, when the weather is warm but not oppressive, and the lake is calm.