Bracciano

Bracciano overlooks the volcanic lake of the same name northwest of Rome. Its great castle, associated with the Orsini family, commands the town and the surrounding shore. Within the fortress, painted friezes and decorated rooms recall the wealth of the lords who made it their residence.

In 1494 Charles VIII of France stopped at Bracciano on his march toward Rome. His reception by the Orsini angered Pope Alexander VI. The Orsini were excommunicated, and a papal army besieged the town in 1496, but failed to take it. Paolo Giordano Orsini became Duke of Bracciano in 1560, having married Isabella de' Medici two years earlier. He employed the painter Taddeo Zuccaro to decorate a principal room of the castle with allegories and coats of arms.