Bracciano castle

Bracciano, as some tombs attest, discovered near Colonette, was inhabited since the time of the Etrurians; but the first mention of the village is around 1234, when it belonged to the family of Prefetti di Vico. In 1290 it was given with "Castri, Rocche e Burgi Braziani" to the Arciospedale di Santo Spirito of Rome. It was conquered by the Bretons, who made it the headquarter of their raids at the time of the fight between Pope Urbano VI (1378-1389) and the antipope Clemente VII(1378-1394). The castle appears in the history reports in 1419, when Martino V (1417-1531) conceded it to the Orsini . Around 1470 the family the castle was transformed in a real renaissance court. From the end of XVII century the owners, after the Orsini, the Odescalchi and, for short time, the Torlonia, contributed to consolidate and to restore the castle.
It was opened to the public in 1956, the Museum is developed on 3000 square meters. The tour of the castle consists in a passage in history from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Going around the halls you can breathe the magical atmosphere of the past.