Bracciano

Sister cities

• Wolaita Sodo
• Neusäß
• Hoogeveen
• Châtenay-Malabry

History

There is no certain information about the origins of Bracciano, on the Via Cassia overlooking the lake. In 1494 Charles VIII of France and his troops marching against Rome stopped at Bracciano. This act led to the excommunication of the Orsini, and in 1496 the city was besieged by a papal army headed by Giovanni di Candia, son of Pope Alexander VI Borgia, though it resisted successfully. Cesare Borgia, another of Alexander's natural sons, refrained from launching a campaign against the town because its lord, Gian Giordano Orsini, was favored by the French king, Louis XII. The sixteenth century was a period of splendour for Bracciano. The notorious spendthrift and libertine Paolo Giordano I Orsini, having married in 1558 Isabella de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, received the title of duke of Bracciano in 1560. The castle received some modernization for the brief visit of the Medici that year. He hired the most prestigious painter available in Rome, Taddeo Zuccaro, to fresco with allegories and coats-of-arms the fortress's most prestigious room, the Sala Papalinia that had been occupied by Sixtus IV. Isabella spent the remainder of her life avoiding a return to the castle, which a modern tourist tradition would have her haunting. In the castle, richly frescoed friezes and ceilings now contrast with blank walls, which were hung with richly coloured tapestries when the lords of Bracciano were in residence. The important late-15th century frieze showing the labours of Hercules is still visible. In the 1620s, the Dutch painter Paul Bril depicted the city in View of Bracciano, one of the earliest known examples of the cityscape style known as veduta.

Geography

Bracciano's territory lies on the western edge of the Sabatine Hills, a low volcanic hills range encircling Lake Bracciano.

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,008
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  791
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  697
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  689
• Italian Sparrow

  Passer italiae (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  672
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  655
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  602
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  525

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2025-09-20
  4 km SSE of San Terenziano, Italy
• M 2.7 — 2025-05-08
  1 km NNE of Montecompatri, Italy
• M 3.2 — 2025-03-04
  3 km S of Bevagna, Italy
• M 3.1 — 2020-05-11
  7 km NNW of Rome, Italy
• M 3.4 — 2019-06-23
  1 km WSW of Gallicano nel Lazio, Italy
• M 3 — 2019-06-15
  4 km NNW of San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy