Just north of Lake Bracciano, in the volcanic hills of the Tolfa and Sabatini, lie Manziana and Canale Monterano, two quiet towns in a landscape of chestnut woods, sulphur springs and deep tufa gorges. It is only an hour from Rome, but it feels much further, with cows grazing in clearings and the smell of wet leaves after rain.
The great sight here is Monterano Antica, a ghost town on a rocky spur above the Mignone valley, abandoned at the end of the eighteenth century after it was sacked by French troops. Its ruins are dramatic: a ruined palace with an arched aqueduct, a fountain with a lion carved into the rock, and the roofless church of San Bonaventura, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The whole area is a nature reserve, and the walk in from the car park takes about half an hour through woods and past bubbling sulphur pools. It has been used as a film set many times, and once you see it you understand why.
The swimming is a short ride south at Lake Bracciano, a large, round, clean volcanic lake where motorboats are banned, so the water stays calm and clear. There are beaches and lidos at Trevignano, Anguillara and Bracciano itself, and the water is warm by late spring. Around Manziana, the Caldara is a volcanic hollow where gas bubbles up through pools of water in a strange, silent landscape, worth a short stop for its weirdness rather than a dip.
The roads here are lovely: narrow, winding through woods and over small bridges, with tight bends and occasional rough patches, and very little traffic outside summer weekends. The road around the lake is busier but offers great views, especially in the evening when the sun drops behind the hills and the water turns gold. Watch for wild boar at dusk, a real hazard on these roads.
Manziana has fuel, cafés and food shops, and Bracciano, with its huge castle overlooking the lake, has more choice. Try fish from the lake or a porchetta sandwich, a Lazio staple, if you see one, and keep an eye on the clouds: storms can build quickly in summer over these hills.