Lake Bracciano

The lake fills a volcanic caldera about six kilometres across and is one of the cleanest large lakes in central Italy, because it feeds an aqueduct supplying Rome and combustion engines on the water are prohibited; sailing, windsurfing and swimming are the result. Three towns sit on the rim. Bracciano is dominated by the Odescalchi castle, a fifteenth-century fortress with round towers still owned privately and used for events, including the 2006 wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Anguillara Sabazia occupies a small headland with a stepped old centre; Trevignano faces the far shore below its ruined rocca.

What you actually see

• The motorless water - engines banned, so sailing and swimming dominate.
• Odescalchi castle - a private fifteenth-century fortress above Bracciano.
• Anguillara Sabazia - a stepped old town on a headland over the lake.
• The crater rim - a circular volcanic basin with three lakeside towns.

When to go

May to September for swimming and sailing; the shore is quiet outside summer and many lakeside places close. Weekends bring Roman crowds.

Honest expectations

Beaches are dark volcanic sand and pebble, not classic seaside. Castle access depends on private events. Public transport around the rim is limited.

Nearby

Cerveteri lies west; Lake Vico is north.