This Castle is an extraordinary private historical residence, open to the public, with 800 years of history. Built in 1470, the Orsini family was one of the most powerful families in Central Italy during the Renaissance. Various branches, organized into a real commonwealth, spread to half of Europe. All of these families claimed the same descent from a certain Ursa, who, breastfed by a bear, like Romulus and Remus by a wolf, gave the family its mythological origin. At the end of the seventeenth century, the castle passed to the pope’s nephew.

Starting in 1470, the castle owner commissioned the construction of the castle, probably to the same workers who built the Sistine Chapel and the Roman palaces of the early Renaissance. Architects such as Francesco del Borgo and especially Giovannino de Dolci may have contributed to the design phase of the building. Gentile Virgino Orsini also invited Francesco di Giorgio Martini, the greatest engineer of the time, to strengthen the military defense of the fortress. At the end of the fifteenth century, the magnificent courtyard of honor was completed with an exquisite old-fashioned portal, which provided access to the noble floors. This castle became the fundamental diplomatic center of the chessboard of Italian history, visited by humanists, ambassadors, popes, cardinals, kings, and queens. The presence of Charles VIII, King of France, in 1494 launched the so-called Wars of Italy.

In 1558 the owner of the castle married Isabella de’ Medici, and in 1560 Giacomo del Ducca and Nanni di Baccio Bigio were called upon to build houses, triumphal arches and hanging gardens, and the brothers Taddeo and Federico Zuccari to decorate the most representative rooms. The love affair between Paolo Giordano and Isabella de’ Medici is represented through a series of frescoes in the so-called private apartment, which can be visited on request for a few days with an application.

Castle Bracciano today is an exceptional historical residence, one of the most impressive Renaissance buildings to visit, with a historical and artistic path that tells the story of the lives of the great characters who built, defended, ruled or visited it. Each space, from original rooms with imposing four-poster beds, to ancient kitchens, to executive rooms with magnificent frescoes or the most intimate studios, tells a story from Italy divided into many states to the Unity of the country. The story of a leader, the love between Paolo Giordano and Isabella de’ Medici, the friendship between Queen Christina of Sweden and Paolo Giordano II, the vicissitudes of Felice della Rovere or Baldassarre Odescalchi, the refined prince of the late nineteenth century who restored the building philologically respecting its identity. Overlooking Borgo and the lake with its tall towers, the castle is set in a landscape of rare beauty.

This large space is dedicated to the leader Gentile Virginio and contains one of the largest civilian frescoes of the fifteenth century Roman period (Gentile Virginio’s military parade and meeting with Piero de’ Medici by Antonio Romano) and a collection of weapons and armor (especially from the sixteenth century). The fresco, with its elegant narrative, shows the world of weapons and letters from leaders of the late fifteenth century. A humanistic world where war was increasingly associated with diplomacy.

The elegant rooms on the main floor, with their decorated ceilings and marble busts of Caesars, welcome guests to an elegant and refined environment rich in art and history.