Latium is studded with magnificent lakes of volcanic origin, each of which offers tourists a wealth of diverse attractions that can satisfy every need.
The closest to Rome is the Lake Bracciano, known to many Italian and foreign tourists arriving in the capital and the same Romans who elected its as the ideal destination for Sunday outings.
On the borders of the lake there are three delightful villages: the famous Orsini-Odescalchi Castle, Anguillara, perched on a promontory overlooking the water, and Trevignano, whose lakefront offers the perfect setting for relaxing walks and refined which allow local pleasant moments of relaxation with flavour.
Lake Bracciano is also known to lovers of water sports, because the place of major sailing events at international level.
Along its banks are also well equipped bathing establishments and many sailing clubs as well as delicious local restaurants, where enjoy excellent fish dishes.
A few kilometers, enclosed by hills full of dense forests, lies the small and enchanting Lake Martignano, suitable for those who like to stay in close contact with nature.
Following the Via Cassia, then we meet Lake Vico, surrounded by chain Monti Cimini. Today the lake is part of a nature reserve of great environmental value, where you can take many paths on horseback and on foot.
Around the lake there are two countries rich in art and history, Ronciglione, with its delightful medieval village, and Caprarola, dominated by the magnificent Palazzo Farnese with its extraordinary Renaissance gardens.
In the North of Viterbo there is the famous and beautiful Lake Bolsena with its purity water.
Finally, the small but charming Lake Mezzano.
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Castel Gandolfo is a small Italian town in Lazio that occupies a height overlooking Lake Albano about 30 km south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills. It is best known as the summer residence of the Pope.
The modern city occupies the site of ancient Alba Longa, capital of the Latin League. Its name is derived from a fortification of the ducal Gandolfi family (of Genoese origin, named after St. Gondolfus) in the 12th century, which passed to the Savelli family from whom the Apostolic Camera purchased it in 1596. Pope Clement VIII was the first pope to come to Castel Gandolfo, but the rebuilding of the old castle was the project of Urban VIII who first came in 1626.
The Castle of the city is surrounded by beautiful gardens and the ruins of the Roman Villa of Domitian. The town of Castel Gandolfo in antiquity was a village that became a major power, so much so that he managed to gain control over 29 colonies.
After that was destroyed by Rome, was rebuilt under Domitian that did raise a wonderful villa, theaters and even a racetrack.
Today Castel Gandolfo is a very attractive tourist destination. Besides the lake, you can admire the archaeological park of the Ibernesi and Villa Torlonia, the villa where Goethe stayed in Italy.
Main sights
- The Pope's summer residence is a 17th century building designed by Carlo Maderno for Pope Urban VIII. The papal palace, and the adjoining Villa Barberini that was added to the complex by Pius XI have enjoyed extraterritorial rights since the signature of the 1929 treaty with Italy; the little piazza directly in front was renamed Piazza della Libertà in the first flush of Italian unity after 1870. The papal palace remained unused from 1870 until 1929. Popes Pius XII (1958) and Paul VI (1978) died at Castel Gandolfo.
- The site of the papal palace, rebuilt on the ruins of the former castle, partly occupies the foundations of a summer residence of the Emperor Domitian that occupied 14 km² (5.4 square miles). The residence was designed by the famous architect Rabirius. In the palace's inner courtyard is a Roman bust depicting Polyphemus, the Cyclops from whose cave Ulysses escaped; it was found in the nymphaeum of the Imperial villa's gardens, an artificially constructed grotto of the crater lake's outlet.
- The parish church, dedicated to St. Thomas of Villanova was designed by Bernini (1658-1661) on the order of the Chigi Pope Alexander VII. It has a square plant, and houses a notable pale by Pietro da Cortona portraying the Crucifixion of Christ.
The two telescopes of the Vatican Observatory, which were moved from Rome to Castel Gandolfo in the 1930s, were still used until the 1980s.
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The lake of Nemi was an appreciated destination for leisure and holiday of the ancient Romans. It were located near a forest and a place of worship dedicated to the divinity Diana, in fact "Nemi" takes its name by the Nemus Dianae, sacred wood dedicated to the goddess.
The Roman building devoted to her, the Temple of Diana, originally stood on the banks of the lake but now it is relatively distant because of the decreased capacity of the basin. The emissary, also of Roman times, in its underground section is 1650 meters long, passes under Genzano through the fence of the volcano crater of Vulcano Laziale. The historical importance of this place is confirmed by the archaeological wealth.
The Legend of Nepi
Since ancient time, the Lake of Nemi was the subject of a legend about two ships of gigantic size, built in Roman times, possibly containing some treasures that were buried at the bottom of the lake for mysterious reasons. This legend is related since the first century AD, and then throughout the Middle Ages, and credited by the occasional discovery of strange objects by fishermen in the lake. The two vessels, 70 meters long and wide over 25, had been built by the Imperator Caligula, in honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis and the goddess Diana, protector of the hunt. But after his death in 41 AD, the Senate of Rome (of which the emperor was implacable political opponent) to erase the memory, destroyed all the works of Caligula, including the two vessels of Nemi that were sunk on bottom of the lake. Since then, the history of the ships become legend.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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