Tom`s travels: Anguillara Sabazia & Bracciano (17/04/2019)

Another day another day-trip, this time heading north towards the lake area. After taking a regional train from Trastevere train station I reached the town of Anguillara Sabazia in less than an hour. The station, located far from the city center, meant that I had to walk a bit through residential areas before reaching the old town. After reaching the town, which is located on the southeastern end of Lake Bracciano, I then climbed the hill through its old core. On the highest point is the medieval tower, once part of a probably larger structure. A tiny park around it granted a nice view on both sides of the town overlooking the lake. After enjoying the view I then walked down through the old town streets and reached the norther part where the Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta is located. Built in the baroque style during the 18th century I entered and quickly had a look of the decorations as a communion was commencing. From there I walked onwards and tried to descend to the lakeshore from the eastern side but found out the street just ended in a small patch of trees closed off by a fence. I walked back from the way I came and then reached the lakeshore from the other side of town. I first went to touch the lake's water with my hand and felt it was quite chilly. As I started my walk along the lakeshore I decided to take off my sweater as the strong sun had started to make the temperature quite hot. My walk took me over the sidewalk next to the road for quite a while until then I was forced to walk on the street as the sidewalk was not there anymore. Despite the random trafficked area I managed to continue on and then take a side street for a little while. After that, I rejoined the main road again which at some points was rather narrow and the cars drove quite close to me. Luckily as it was lunchtime there weren't that many driving at that time of day. After several kilometers, I started to reach the first houses of the town of Bracciano. After finding a supermarket I headed inside to buy a few things to eat as lunch. Walking onwards I then entered the old town and reached a terrace at the eastern part of town which provided beautiful views over the lake and the town of Anguillara Sabazia from which I had come from, in the distance. That was a perfect spot to stop, relax and enjoy my lunch. After eating I then decided to walk around the pretty streets and passed by the main church of Santo Stefano; it was closed so I just had to content myself by observing its Baroque facade. From the little square in front of it, I could clearly see the eastern walls and tower of the town's castle. I intended to visit it but found out the entrance was located on the opposite side. So after walking downhill I reached the western part of the town where a small park encircled the castle. After crossing a small bridge I entered the complex and headed to the ticket office. After buying the ticket and being giving a small map and description of the building I started the visit of the complex. Built around the 15th century by Braccio da Montone, it then passed under the hands of the famous Orsini family and two centuries later to the Odescalchi family who still owns it to this day. The castle is made up of a set of outer walls and a large fortified central keep with five towers. After walking through the first gate I reached a small courtyard that featured a staircase with a statue of a bear, symbol of the Orsini family, and two doors. The door to the right presented what used to be the castle's armory destined for the weapons and soldiers. The door to then left, which I then crossed, gave way to a staircase that brought me to the first floor. From here I walked through several rooms all featuring beautiful frescoes and decorations. The first was the Sala Papalina, named so because it hosted Pope Sixtus IV, the second was Sala Umberto I, where the king of Italy Umberto I was hosted. Then followed the sala del Trittico and sala del Pisanello both featuring a full band of frescoes right below the ceiling. Then came the sala dei Cesari, the largest in that part of the castle, and featuring busts of Roman emperors. After that the sala degli Orsini and sala di Isabella with beautiful original wooden ceilings and renaissance beds. A staircase then led upstairs to the second floor where another series of rooms followed onwards. I passed through the sala Gotica with germanic styled neogothic furniture and the sala delle armi, called so because it used to host the impressive collection of weapons and armors of the castle. The room was empty though as they just moved all the collection to another room which I saw right after. On a room right above the battlements, a new exhibition had been set up showcasing some beautiful pieces of warfare and the incredible 11 by 4 meters fresco made by Antoniazzo Romano. It represents the life of Gentil Virginio Orsini, on the right meeting with Piero de Medici and on the left a ceremonial gallop followed by an army. After admiring the masterpiece I then walked out onto the battlements and up the eastern tower from where I had a great view of the old town on one side and the lake on the other. Finally, I descended back down and reached the main inner courtyard featuring a typical renaissance loggia and a small building where the kitchens were located. The tour of the castle was over and after walking down the first staircase I had encountered I walked back out of the castle. Then I headed to the train station where I finally took the ride back to Rome.