Anguillara Sabazia, one of the most evocative villages in Lazio, overlooks the vast volcanic Lake of Bracciano.
Aerial view of Anguillara Sabazia
The town owes its name to the ancient Roman villa Angularia, built on the very spot where the shore forms a right angle, while the current name derives from the Anguillara Family, who held the fiefdom until 1488. The old part of town preserves its original medieval layout.
The Fontana della Terra in Anguillara Sabazia
The symbol of Anguillara is the Fountain of the Eels, or Fontana della Terra, which dominates the small square on the Belvedere. Other unmissable attractions are the Collegiate Church and the sixteenth-century Palazzo Baronale, today’s town hall, which houses several restored frescoes. In the small Church of the Assumption, a Madonna and Child, the Assumption by Girolamo Muziano, and several angels from 1400 are depicted.
A Neolithic village dating back to approximately 8,000 years ago, the oldest Neolithic lakeside settlement in Europe, was discovered in the area of La Marmotta. In the second half of the fifth millennium BC, several peoples migrated to the upper Arrone River, the emissary of Lake Bracciano, and settled there, dedicating themselves mainly to agriculture, humanity’s greatest discovery. They also created unique ceramics items, found in the today submerged village. The dugout canoes and all the other artifacts discovered since 1994 are now on display at the Pigorini Prehistoric Museum in Rome.
Anguillara Sabazia
Lake Bracciano is a true paradise for lovers of water sports, such as sailing, rowing, and surfing. In addition, on the lakeshore, it is possible to visit the Air Force Museum.
The 17,000 hectares Bracciano-Martignano Lake Complex Regional Natural Park which stretches between Tuscia and Rome, includes the villages of Anguillara Sabazia, Bassano Romano, Bracciano, Campagnano di Roma, Manziana, Monterosi, Oriolo Romano, Rome, Sutri, and Trevignano Romano.
The Lake Bracciano
The Bracciano and Martignano Lakes, that fill up a basin created by the now extinct Sabatino volcano, are surrounded by wooded hills. The forests cast sinuous shadows over the waters, while birdwatchers scan their surroundings accompanied by the gentle sound of sailboats and canoes.
As for culinary tradition, first and second courses in Anguillara are based on lake fish. The typical recipes are eels alla cacciatora, fried golden pike, pasta with lake fish sauce, and fried or marinated lattarini. A fish festival is held in Anguillara in mid-June, to celebrate the fishing tradition that the Anguillarini fishermen have been carrying on for over sixty years. The event is particularly dedicated to fried lattarino, served as a street food in its typical paper bag, and to the prized whitefish.
Pasta with Broccoli
A typical local product is the Broccoletto di Anguillara, a Traditional Agri-Food Product of Lazio (PAT), celebrated at the end of March during the event “Broccoletti in Piazza“, an initiative that has been taking place for twenty years.
The Pizzole Festival in Anguillara Sabazia
In August, Anguillara Sabazia hosts, in its historic centre, the Pizzola Festival, an initiative combining culinary tradition with entertainment. Pizzola, a fragrant fried pizza, can be served sweet or savoury, sprinkled with sugar or salt, or stuffed with vegetables, ham, or cheese.
The Cacio Fiore
A little-known local delicacy is Cacio Fiore, an ancestor of Pecorino Romano. It is produced with raw sheep’s milk with the addition of vegetable rennet from artichoke or wild thistle flowers harvested in Summer in the Roman countryside, hence the name fiore. This Slow Food Presidium is produced according to the ancient Roman recipe.