Lake Bracciano

The Lake Bracciano is a lake of central Italy, area Latium. It covers a surface of 57 km ², with a perimeter of 31,5 km, a 160 meters depth, a 9,3 km length and a width of 8,7 km.

Geography and history

To 30 km in the North-West of Rome, this lake fills the Western part of the Sabatino volcano.

It is surrounded by the 12 hills, most wooded being in North and the West. They are planted mainly olive-trees and umbrella pines, while on the edges of the lake primarily reeds and birches push. A road circumlacustre makes it possible to make the turn of 13 villages.

the Natural reserve of Monterano covers a volcanic territory of 1000 hectares, rich in caves and tuffs of original form. One also finds there an archeological site, with the Etruscan vestiges of necropoles of the VIIIe and IIIe centuries before J. - C.

the lake is fed by many underground sources, inter alia the thermal springs of Vicarello. Its water flows in the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Arrone torrent, which leaves the surroundings of Anguillara to lead to the coast in the area of Maccarese. The water level of this torrent is however irregular and depends on the seasons.

the other discharge system of the lake is the Vatican City, to which it is connected by an aqueduct of 59,2 km (Aqueduc of Trajan), of Roman origin, built by Trajan, rebuilt at the 17th century by the pope Paul V who gave him his name (Aqueduc Paola). Water ends in the Paolina fountain on the Janicule and flows in the the Tiber.

One considers that the time necessary with the renewal of water is 137 years. The lake was however cleaned, widened, and there remains a natural basin of a priceless quality.

Flora and fauna

a very great number of fish whose carp, the Eel, the Tench, the mule constitutes the piscicultural richness of this water. One also introduced at last century two varieties of fish predator: the persico-trout (salmon), the royal persico .

Among the mammals which live in the neighborhoods of the lake, the Loup would be present. More certainly, one finds the Lièvre, the Fouine, the Sanglier and the Belette.

The migratory birds or sedentaries abound: fishing Martin, Woodcock, ashy Héron, hen of water, wild ducks and raptors night. As well as the grass snakes, the water snakes, the tortoises.

List communes

Hamlets

Vigna di Valle, Vicarello, Bagni di Vicarello, Bagni di Stigliano.

Events

1804 : at the time of the crowning of Napoleon, enormous a Montgolfier launched square of Notre Dame to Paris, landed on sea on the Lake Bracciano.

2006 : Tom Cruise chose the village of Bracciano for its last marriage on November 18th, 2006. With the great spite of the inhabitants who appreciated hardly the service of a colossal nature and prohibitions to circulate which obstructed their daily life considerably.

Hydrotherapy

the medical use of thermal springs of the area of Bracciano and Monterano goes back to mists of time. A multitude of small centers were already in Etruscan activity at the time , but it is especially with the Romains that two great centers of therapy developed: Vicarello , known under the name of Aquae Novae and Bagni di Stigliano ( Aquae Veteres ).

With Vicarello , one finds many traces of the Roman thermal activity. The emperor Domitien (81 - 96 after J. - C.) attached a great importance to the therapeutic virtues of this water. He even thought that they cured the deformations of the feet and the pains of the legs from which he suffered. These baths remained active during all Antiquity and until the Moyen-âge, until constructions fall in ruin.

In 1573, the pope Gregoire XIII made rebuild the thermal building which was partially demolished in 1852, to make place with an establishment of bigger size.

At the time of this work, one could extract the treasure from Vicarello hidden since centuries. It is about a great quantity of objects of worship out of noble metals: vases, money or bronze, gold coins, which one also found in the rock from where the thermal spring emerges. These objects were deposited there in offering with the ancient divinities.

Close lake

The Lake Martignano, close to the Lake Bracciano, is of the same geological nature, volcanic origin him too. It was born from the junction of three craters. It is the smallest lake of the Latium (2,45 km ²). As there are no littoral road, and few dwellings, the zone remained natural, wild glazes mainly of olive-trees, genévriers and cane-apple bushes.

It was known in antiquity under the name of Alseatinus. One still finds traces of a Aqueduc builds by the emperor Auguste (2 av. J. - C.) on Northern bank to feed out of water the district of Trastevere with Rome: the Aqueduct Alsietina or aqueduct of Auguste.

See too

Bracciano
List of the Italy Lakes

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