logo

THE LAKES: Bracciano, Bolsena and Vico

Trekking, birdwatching, botany and nature photography are every nature lover’s favourite pastime around the volcanic lakes of the area.

The Natural Reserve of Lake Vico (10 minutes away) resembles a natural, open air museum with its chestnut trees, hazel and beech forests, explorable on foot, on horseback, by mountain bike or in land rover. Discover the marshy areas and nature trails of Mount Venere and Mount Fogliano, covered with giant oaks, chestnut trees and age-long beechwoods. Foxes, weasels, hares, martens, porcupines, dormice, badgers and wild cats live in this beautiful area.

The huge crater of Lake Bolsena (the biggest volcanic lake in Europe) is embellished by two islands, Bisentina and Martana. The Farnese family made the Bisentina island even more beautiful with precious artistic works, by Antonio da Sangallo Il Giovane and Vignola, during the Duchy of Castro (1537-1649), which can be admired on  motorboat excursions from Capodimonte and Bolsena.

Lake Bracciano, of volcanic origin, is a clean air resort particularly popular for water sports (canoeing, scuba-diving, sailing and swimming), since no motorized watercraft is allowed access. The main water basin supplier to Rome runs along a 43km-long aqueduct to the Acqua Paola fountain, restored in the early 17th Century by Pople Paul V.

The Natural Park includes Lake Martignano, an almost perfectly circular small lake,  formed from a different crater of the same huge volcano.

 

Related Posts

 

The Lakes: Bracciano, Bolsena and Vico

Back