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Anguillara Sabazia: the Town on the Promontory of Lake Bracciano
Anguillara Sabazia is a promontory of medieval houses looking over Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres from Rome. The name has nothing to do with eels: it derives from Angularia, a Roman villa built where the shoreline forms a right angle. Its owner, Rutilia Polla, raised lake fish there for the market of the Eternal City. Entry to the village is via a 16th-century gate with a clock, where one walks along the main street to the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta (St Mary of the Assumption), and from there the lake view opens up spectacularly.
8,000 Years Underwater
In the locality of La Marmotta, archaeologists discovered the oldest lakeside Neolithic village in western Europe, just a few metres from the present-day shore: rectangular huts, pottery, five dugout canoes, and tools in obsidian from Lipari were found. All submerged at a depth of 7.5 metres. One of the canoes — 9.5 metres long — is on display at the Neolithic Centre near the railway station.
The Lake, Broccoli and Fried Whitebait
The Bracciano-Martignano Natural Park covers almost 17,000 hectares of hills and volcanic water. In June, the Fish Festival celebrates deep-fried sand smelt wrapped in paper. In March Anguillara broccoli are celebrated, a Traditional Agri-Food Product of the Lazio region. Another product, Cacio Fiore, is a Slow Food Presidium, made with wild artichoke rennet, a cheese the Romans already knew how to make.
