Bracciano Martignano Regional Park
This is the most recent of Latium’s nature park, and is a fine example of the typical volcanic landscape that extends over much of the belt of hills to the north of Rome.

Straddling the provinces of Rome and Viterbo, it includes the two lakes, Bracciano and Martignano, after which it is named-whose surface area of six thousand hectares accounts on its own for around 40% of the park-and the adjacent countryside. Lake Bracciano, by far the larger of the two, constitutes a very important area reservoir for the city of Rome, which makes use its waters whenever emergencies occur.

The lakes occupy the bottom of a basin created by the activity of the ancient Sabatine volcano, which reached its peak around 400,000 years ago. An ever deeper concavity than is apparent at first sight, as the depths of lake Bracciano can extend as far as 165 meters below the water’s surface.

The hills that surround the lakes map out a rural landscape of pastureland and agriculture, especially in some parts of the protected area such as the Vicarello estate.

On the hillsides, the most common forest tree is the chestnut, probably introduces here by the Romans, but there is no lack of tall and very lovely beech woods, such as those of Oriolo Romano and Mount Termine.
But the lakeside environment is naturally the most richly endowed: the charming little towns of Trevignano, Bracciano and Anguillara Sabazia stand right beside the waters of lake of Bracciano, while Martignano lies in splendits solitude amongst the files.

For further information: www.parcobracciano.it

The Orsini-Odescalchi castle
Just an hour from Rome on the southern shore of Lake Bracciano, the Odescalchi Castle majestically reigns as one of the most beautiful feudal residences in all of Europe.
Construction began in the second half of the fifteenth century, as is considered to be a fusion of military and civil architecture.

The museum was  originally the idea of prince Don Livio IV Odescalchi, and was opened to the public in 1956. It covers 3000 m2, in which visitors are able to pass through, and admire the most important and fascinating of the halls of “Castello Odescalchi”. In visiting the museum, with its fine halls, decorated with its original frescoes and furnishings, one is able in a very tangible sense, to come into contact with the magical atmosphere of both the medieval and renaissance periods.
A visit to “Castello Odescalchi” will not only allow you the possibility of admiring ancient object and historical atmosphere of the museum, but will also enable you to discover the hidden most corners of the Castle.

For further information: www.odescalchi.it

The "Macchia Grande" of Manziana
The Macchia Grande (or Great Woods) is located in the area between Tolfa, Cerveteri and Manziana district. Along the paths that wind their way into the depths visitors can discover the geological, naturalistic and historical features peculiar to this area. In the Solfatara zone, one ca observe its typical gaseous emissions of sulphur dioxite. These post-volcanic manifestations bear witness to the eruptions of the Sabatine complex that occurred about a million years ago.

The woods provide shelter and food for many kinds of bird and mammals. Visitors can hear the ringing laugh of the green woodpecker (Picus viridis) and the noisy chatter of the jay (garrulous glandarius), and watch a funny little spider-catcher creep its way up the bark of oak-trees in search of the insects it feed son. Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are plentiful, as are badgers (Melse meles) and weasels, scattered along the paths where its wanderings have taken it, we find the black and white heed log of the porcupine. And there are many traces of the area’s rich cultural history to be found here too.  With numerous remains of Etruscan, Roman and late medieval settlement.

The most noteworthy include the remains of an Etruscan tomb at Fontanelle locality, the ancient paving-stones of the Roman road that can be seen in Bottaccio locality, and a Hypogeum (subterranean chamber) in the area called Le Macerine. This road led to the Devil’s Bridge, the most interesting archeological survival from the Roman era to be seen in the district today.

For further information: www.comunedimanziana.it

San Liberato Botanic Park
San Liberato botanical gardens extend around a building complex consisting of a church, manor house and farm buildings over a total of approximately 5 hectares.
The park as it can be admired today is the result of some 15 years (from 1964 to 1979) of hard-working dedication and creative effort, made possible thanks to the passionate enthusiasm of Count Donato Sanminiatelli, an art historian and prodigiously talented gardener, his wife Countess Maria Odescalchi and the great landscape gardener Russel Page, who coordinated the works to ensure they kept in constant touch with nature and dreams.
San Liberato botanic park contains species from all over the world: Canadian maples, Japanese cherries, Liquidambars and Persian parrotias grow here in company with camphor trees, liododenders. Parts of the garden is devoted to acidophilic plants: collections of camellias, rhododendrons, sweet-scented Choysia ternate and black bamboo.
San Liberato is also a rose-garden-or rather, an endless gallery of rose of thousand different hues, interrupted and linked up by a stone fountain, cradle and haven for waterlilies and frogs.

Visiting-hours for the Botanical gardens
Opening-times: from April to October, on the first and last Sundays of each month, at 4.30 p.m. (3.30 p.m. solar time); in November, open only on the first Sunday of the month, at 3.30 p.m. August and holidays: closed.

For further information: www.sanliberato.it