Silence, so rare and longed for, sometimes feared, sometimes deafening. The forest is the ideal place to listen to silence. The chirping of the birds, the rustling of the leaves in the wind, the flowing of water, the sound of footsteps on the undergrowth, and even our own breathing. If you want to experience an unforgettable adventure, you can visit the Parco Naturale Regionale del complesso lacuale di Bracciano – Martignano
Lake Bracciano
Created in 1999, it covers almost 17,000 hectares between the Tuscia area and Rome. It is nestled among the villages of Anguillara Sabazia, Bassano Romano, Bracciano, Campagnano di Roma, Manziana, Monterosi, Oriolo Romano, Roma, Sutri and Trevignano Romano. Between the volcanic lakes of Bracciano and Martignano we find the mount Rocca Romana, the beech forest of Monte Raschio in Oriolo Romano and two natural monuments, the Caldara di Manziana, with pools of sulphurous water among the birch trees of the Bosco di Macchia Grande, and the wetland of the Pantane and Lagusiello in Trevignano Romano, a refuge for aquatic birds.
On the hills of the Sabatini Mountains, among the chestnut groves stand out the tree-lined avenues of the Olmate and the beech forest of Monte Raschio, Oriolo Romano.
The old depressed beech forest of Monte Raschio
A Unesco World Heritage Site since 2017, the over 70 hectares old forest of Monte Raschio is a rare example of a beech forest that grows between 450 and 550 metres above sea level, considerably below the altitudes reached in the Apennines by similar forests. For this and other peculiarities, this natural monument, with its five-hundred-year-old trees splendidly immersed in uncontaminated nature, has been included in the site “Primordial Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other Regions of Europe”.
Natural Monument Caldara in Manziana
Bordered by a stretch of the ancient Via Clodia, the monument includes, since 1600, the ruins of Mola di Manziana and Caldara, a large volcanic depression originated by the volcanic Tolfa area. According to the legend, in this natural monument you can find the recipe for the philosopher’s stone to turn lead into gold. Among the birches, you can find a typically Nordic tree which experienced the last ice age, the gurgling of a geyser, the intermittent explosions of sulphurous waters at 27°C, generated by the vaporisation of the water in contact with the still incandescent underground magma.
The lakes of Bracciano and Martignano lie at the bottom of a basin originated by the ancient extinct Sabatino volcano, in a landscape of wooded hills and sinuous shadows on the water. The light and constant rocking of sailing boats and canoes keeps company to birdwatchers, ready to spot coots, ducks, Turkish fistions, “pesciaiole” and loons, but also rapacious birds like the brown kite, the owl, and the hawk.
The birches in the Macchia Grande Forest
The Manziana forest takes its name from Mantus, the god of the Underworld Manth, to whom the forest was consecrated by the Etruscans. At that time, it was dark, impenetrable and dotted with pools of sulphurous water, considered fearsome emanations from the Underworld, even today. The forest makes the almost 600 hectares Bosco di Macchia Grande the largest flat area with tall trees in Europe.