Anguillara is a romantic village on a small peninsula in the lake. When you drive to Anguillara from the villa you will pass by a long beach where Romans go to for a relaxing day out on the lake to escape the hot city in summer.
From the parking area on the lake shore you can walk all the way to the top of the village and visit the Giardini del Torrione. From there you have a beautiful view on the lake. It is the perfect place to enjoy the sunset and take a perfect picture!
Bracciano is only three kilometers away from Villa Valentina. It is set on a hill top overlooking the lake.
Above the village rises the Orsini-Odescalchi castle. It is a place with great history and where famous people got married (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Petra Ecclestone and Eros Ramazotti). It is still possible to visit the castle, which is well worth the trip.
During the summer, cars are banned from the city center in weekends, so you can walk everywhere and enjoy a nice drink or Italian cuisine in the streets. You will find live music, lot’s of people, and a great athmosphere, making you never want to leave!
Besides Bracciano and Anguillara, Trevignano is the third village on the lake, and just 9 kilometers from Villa Valentina. It has a beautiful well maintained boulevard running for a few kilometers along the shores of the lake. It has restaurants, bars and gelateria’s, making it the perfect place for an afternoon stroll. End with an aperitivo on a shaded terrace, enjoying a light breeze coming from the lake and you will truely feel like living la dolce vita!
When you want a nice day at the beach to enjoy the lake, we recommend you to go to Camping Azzurro. This way you can avoid crowded beaches and it is close to Villa Valentina. For a small contribution you can use the private beach, which is safe for children. It has a small playground, the opportunity to rent a pedal boat, canoo or kayak and it has a restaurant and bar serving drinks, icecream, meals and pizza’s.
Across the street from Villa Valentina you find the church of San Liberato. It is built on the remains of an old roman village named Foro Clodii. This was a post station on the ancient Roman road Via Clodia, of which the remains still can be found in the woods. When you hike on one of the paths across the main road, chances are you will run into old Roman remains and parts of the original Roman road. Depending on the route you choose you can also find remains of the Trajan aquaduct, or an old cave used by early Christians.
Villa Valentina lies in the heart of the land originally ruled by the Etruscans. They lived in the area well before the Romans came and took over and they were extremely developed. They traded with the Greeks and the Cartaginians and were very rich and powerful. In a twenty minute drive from the villa you can visit the Necropolis of Cerveteri where you can admire their wealth and technical skills still today. It is a city-like plan of tombes built from the 9th until the 1st century BC.
In a short drive (13km) from Villa Valentina and a short walk you find the Caldara di Manziana. It is a swamp like area where white puttles of water are bubbling, caused by the gasses coming out of the ground. The gasses consist of carbon dioxide, which smells, but is very healthy for skin and hair. You will see people taking a bath and coming out all white. It is a smelly but cleansing experience, so feel free to join and try it yourselve!
Just a 15 minute walk or two minutes by car from Villa Valentina you will find Lungolago. This is a boulevard on the lake shore where you find restaurants, bars and a long public beach. It is also the perfect place for water sports. You can go sup boarding, wind surfing or sailing on the lake. If you have no experience, don’t worry, there are several schools around to teach you. And if you are not a fan of water sports there are also tennis courts or soccer fields.
What is shown here is only a small selection of what the direct area of Villa Valentina has to offer.
Take a look at our Instagram account, Google, visit the local tourist office, or ask anyone you meet in the area to find out what else there is to do. Everyone is happy to provide suggestions.