Lake Bracciano
Encyclopedia
Lake Bracciano is a lake
of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome
. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena
) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circular perimeter of approximately .
The lake owes its origin to intense volcanic activity from 600,000 to 40,000 years before present, which created many small volcanoes in the Sabatino territory. The main magma chamber
was situated under the present lake of Bracciano. Its collapse created the caldera
now occupied by the lake, which is a crater lake
. Some small craters are still recognisable around the lake and in the immediate vicinity.
Three towns border the lake, Bracciano
, Anguillara Sabazia
and Trevignano Romano
.
The lake is an important tourist attraction situated near Rome. As it serves as a drinking water reservoir for the city of Rome
it has been under control since 1986 in order to avoid pollution of its waters. The use of motorboats is strictly forbidden (exceptions being made for a few professional fisherman and the authorities), and a centralised sewer system has been built for all the bordering towns in order to avoid any spoiling of the water quality. This makes Bracciano one of the cleanest lakes of Italy
. The absence of motorized navigation (apart from police boats) favours sailing, canoeing and swimming.
In the last few years the lake and its surroundings have been brought under further protection by the creation of a regional park, the Parco Regionale del complesso lacuale di Bracciano Martignano.
lakeshore village, datable 5700 BCE have been found, in works overseen by Maria Antonietta Fugazzola Delpino, director of the Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography
in Rome
, and president of the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Protohistory. Thick oak pilings driven more than two meters into the subsoil have survived, thanks to anoxic
lakebottom sediments; dendrochronology
dates the settlement very accurately, for local tree-ring sequences have already been thoroughly established. The oldest post Fugazzola Delpino has discovered at La Marmotta dates from around 5,690 BCE, but she thinks ongoing work may yet reveal the village to have been born a century or so earlier. She is more certain of when it died: within a decade of so of 5230 BCE. "Since the sixth millennium BCE, as the climate has grown wetter, the water level in Lake Bracciano has risen more than , and so the ruins of the Neolithic lakeshore village are now buried in bottom mud 400 yards off shore" (Delpino 2002).
The strongest evidence that the Marmottans came from far away, probably originally making their way upriver to its source in Lake Bracciano, is simply that their culture was advanced. In the region around Lake Bracciano, according to Fugazzola Delpino, there is no sign of any hunter-gatherers before the settlement was built at La Marmotta. The builders of the village had at their disposal, from the start, the entire "Neolithic package": domesticated animals and plants, ceramic pots, polished stone tools, just as though they had unloaded all those things from their boats.
They kept sheep and goats; they brought pigs and cows with them too, and two breeds of dog, and they planted a wide variety of crops—wheat and barley —and collected others in the woods. " 'They had everything', says Fugazzola, 'They ate grains, vegetables, and also lots of fruit – apples, plums, raspberries, strawberries' Especially in winter they supplemented their diet with acorns, which they stored in large ceramic jars. They cultivated flax to make linen. They planted opium poppies
" One of their boats has been recovered. A team of Czech archeologists built a copy of the boat and sailed it along the Mediterranean coast to test its seaworthiness.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena
Lake Bolsena
Lake Bolsena is a crater lake of central Italy, of volcanic origin, which was formed starting 370,000 years ago following the collapse of a caldera of the Vulsini volcanic complex into a deep aquifer. Roman historic records indicate activity of the Vulsini volcano occurred as recently as 104 BC,...
) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circular perimeter of approximately .
The lake owes its origin to intense volcanic activity from 600,000 to 40,000 years before present, which created many small volcanoes in the Sabatino territory. The main magma chamber
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
was situated under the present lake of Bracciano. Its collapse created the caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
now occupied by the lake, which is a crater lake
Crater lake
A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...
. Some small craters are still recognisable around the lake and in the immediate vicinity.
Three towns border the lake, Bracciano
Bracciano
Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, 30 km northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle Castello Orsini-Odescalchi...
, Anguillara Sabazia
Anguillara Sabazia
Anguillara Sabazia is a town and comune in the Province of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, around 30 km northwest of Rome. It nestles on a small cape on the coast of the Lake Bracciano; its medieval center and its beach make it a popular destination for tourists.Anguillara is served by a local...
and Trevignano Romano
Trevignano Romano
Trevignano Romano is a small town and comune near Rome. It has a population of about 5,000. Trevignano is on Lake Bracciano. It is about 47 km away from Rome.-Main sights:...
.
The lake is an important tourist attraction situated near Rome. As it serves as a drinking water reservoir for the city of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
it has been under control since 1986 in order to avoid pollution of its waters. The use of motorboats is strictly forbidden (exceptions being made for a few professional fisherman and the authorities), and a centralised sewer system has been built for all the bordering towns in order to avoid any spoiling of the water quality. This makes Bracciano one of the cleanest lakes of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The absence of motorized navigation (apart from police boats) favours sailing, canoeing and swimming.
In the last few years the lake and its surroundings have been brought under further protection by the creation of a regional park, the Parco Regionale del complesso lacuale di Bracciano Martignano.
La Marmotta Neolithic settlement
At La Marmotta, a few hundred meters outside the village of Anguillara Sabazia, remains of an Early NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
lakeshore village, datable 5700 BCE have been found, in works overseen by Maria Antonietta Fugazzola Delpino, director of the Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography
Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography
The Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography is a public and research museum located in Rome, Italy. Established in 1876 by Luigi Pigorini, it is currently directed by Maria Antonietta Fugazzola. One important collection of the Pigorini houses is Neolithic artifacts from Lake...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and president of the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Protohistory. Thick oak pilings driven more than two meters into the subsoil have survived, thanks to anoxic
Anoxic sea water
Anoxic waters are areas of sea water or fresh water that are depleted of dissolved oxygen. This condition is generally found in areas that have restricted water exchange....
lakebottom sediments; dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
dates the settlement very accurately, for local tree-ring sequences have already been thoroughly established. The oldest post Fugazzola Delpino has discovered at La Marmotta dates from around 5,690 BCE, but she thinks ongoing work may yet reveal the village to have been born a century or so earlier. She is more certain of when it died: within a decade of so of 5230 BCE. "Since the sixth millennium BCE, as the climate has grown wetter, the water level in Lake Bracciano has risen more than , and so the ruins of the Neolithic lakeshore village are now buried in bottom mud 400 yards off shore" (Delpino 2002).
The strongest evidence that the Marmottans came from far away, probably originally making their way upriver to its source in Lake Bracciano, is simply that their culture was advanced. In the region around Lake Bracciano, according to Fugazzola Delpino, there is no sign of any hunter-gatherers before the settlement was built at La Marmotta. The builders of the village had at their disposal, from the start, the entire "Neolithic package": domesticated animals and plants, ceramic pots, polished stone tools, just as though they had unloaded all those things from their boats.
They kept sheep and goats; they brought pigs and cows with them too, and two breeds of dog, and they planted a wide variety of crops—wheat and barley —and collected others in the woods. " 'They had everything', says Fugazzola, 'They ate grains, vegetables, and also lots of fruit – apples, plums, raspberries, strawberries' Especially in winter they supplemented their diet with acorns, which they stored in large ceramic jars. They cultivated flax to make linen. They planted opium poppies
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
" One of their boats has been recovered. A team of Czech archeologists built a copy of the boat and sailed it along the Mediterranean coast to test its seaworthiness.