All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it.
Notes:
Page added in May 2024.
All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it.
Notes:
Page added in May 2024.
You may wish to see a page on the town and the exterior of the castle first.
XVIth century gates and inscriptions: (above) P. Giordano Orsini I D'Aragona (Duke of Bracciano in 1560-1581); (below) ECCLESI(A)E DVCTOR STATVIT NE(APVLEO) GENTIS VR(SINAE) SONTES A(RC)EO SERVO BONOS (according to Giuseppe Gatti: I was built by Napoleone Orsini, condottiere of the Church, I repulse the enemies and protect the good)
We now enter the castle itself. What appears to be a triple wall, of great strength, built from pieces of basalt, originally surrounded the castle with ditches that are now filled in. Two entrances lead into it, one from the city side, the other from the lake side, arched and fortified gates.
(..) At the gates and in the courtyard you can still see the stone coats of arms of the Orsini from the time when their castle was built. (..) The House of Bracciano was famous in the 15th century for two famous war captains, Napoleone and his son Virginio. Napoleone - this baptismal name had been in use by the Orsini since ancient times - built the Castle of Bracciano, his still-lasting monument. He died as one of the most powerful feudal lords of his time at Vicovaro in 1480.
Ferdinand Gregorovius - Das Schloss der Orsini in Bracciano - 1870
(left) Courtyard; (centre) a bear (It. "orso") heraldic symbol of the Orsini; (right) heraldic symbols of the Odescalchi
at the entrance to the castle (in 1696 the last of the Orsini of Bracciano sold the castle to Livio Odescalchi,
nephew of Pope Innocent XI and this explains why incense burners, one of the heraldic symbols of the Odescalchi,
can be seen here and there in the castle)
The style of the building has the character of the early Renaissance. The wall surfaces, the windows framed with peperino and the battlements are definitely reminiscent of the Venetian palace in Rome, which was built at the same time. As there, in the Orsini castle, the larger courtyard was originally surrounded by a columned portico, and this was later walled up. Only a free staircase resting on tuff pillars, which leads to the upper floor, remains. (..) The progenitor of the Orsini, with the Roman name Ursus (bear), is lost in the darkness of the legend. Whether he was Germanic is unknown. His descendants were called the Filii Ursi, because that was the original name of the Orsini in the oldest stories. Historically they appeared in the 12th century. Celestine III (1191-1198) belonged to their house. In the 13th century, at the time of the Hohenstaufen Battles, they gained greater power, also through the senator Matheus Rubeus, the tireless enemy of the Emperor Frederick II, the commanding head of the Capitoline Republic, then through Pope Nicholas III. (1277-1280), who was a son of this same senator. Gregorovius
Portals: (left) in the courtyard; (right) on the first floor leading to Sala dei Cesari
The portal of the old castle chapel nearby shows the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance. An elderly woman showed us around inside for two hours after identifying herself as a German who had been in the service of the Odescalchi house for 30 years and was now ending her days in the solitude of the castle quietly and contentedly. Gregorovius
The inner court has a gothic loggia and a curious outside staircase, at once descending and ascending, and adorned with frescoes. As we were sitting here to draw, the old housekeeper came out to welcome us. She had been the German nurse of the young Prince Odescalchi, to whom the castle now belongs; we brought her a letter from the Princess-mother, and she was delighted to have the break in the monotony of her life. She had told the Princess she wished for repose - she wished to have time to think in her old age - and here she found it, but sometimes the repose was almost too much.
Augustus J. C. Hare - Days Near Rome - 1875.
Mantelpieces in the halls of the castle
The Orsini, as fertile a family as the Colonna, divided over time into many family branches. They called themselves after their possessions the Orsini of Monte Giordano and of Campo di Fiore in Rome, the counts and lords of Nola in Campania, of Tagliacozzo in Abruzzo, of Gravina and Manupello, of Monterotondo, Vicovaro, S. Angelo, Pitigliano, Anguillara and Bracciano. The register of their former castles and estates, which is preserved in the archives of the house in Rome, comprises an entire volume. They were as powerful in the Kingdom of Naples as they were in the Roman countryside. The Colonna, also endowed with large fiefs in the Neapolitan region and in raging war with their hereditary enemies because of the marquisates of Tagliacozzo, Alba and Celano, had the core of their rule in Latium. The Orsini, on the other hand, dominated the Sabine region on the Anio from Vicovaro to Nerola and Monterotondo, and the Etruscan country from Sutri downwards across the lake to Galera and the sea shore of ancient Caere. Gregorovius
The wind whistled through the long galleries louder than was pleasant, when there was no voice to enliven it. (..) Of the few mediaeval castles in Italy which are still inhabited Bracciano is one of the largest. The Odescalchi family still occasionally come here in summer, when the vast chambers must be delightfully cool, and the views over lake and town and mountains most enjoyable. Hare
In 1469 Clarice Orsini, niece of Napoleone Orsini, married Lorenzo de' Medici thus establishing a family bond which greatly increased the status of the Orsini among the Italian noble families.
Detail of a very large fresco by Antoniazzo Romano (which was in the courtyard and now is in Sala delle Armi) portraying Virginio Orsini as Grand Constable of the Aragonese Kingdom of Naples and Bartolomeo d'Alviano on a white galloping horse
Virginio inherited Napoleone's goods and fame. (..) In 1488 he was made Grand Constable of the Kingdom of Naples, where he had close ties to the Aragon dynasty. He called himself de Aragona. In the service of King Alfonso II and then Ferdinand II, he was supposed to stop the march of Charles VIII of France through Etruria as this king moved to conquer Naples. But the sons of Virginius (..) surrendered their castles and this defection of the Orsini out of necessity opened the conqueror's access to Rome. Charles VIII moved into Bracciano, where he took up residence in the castle of Virginio. He then advanced with his army against Rome. (..) Virginio, still in the service of Aragon, was also caught up in the storms of the military campaign that was to decide the fate of Italy. Charles VIII had him captured in Naples and then took him with him on his retreat. The Orsini escaped in the famous Battle of the Taro, only to change the flag soon afterwards. He entered the service of Charles VIII's governor in Naples. When the Aragonese regained the throne after the fall of the French army, he was arrested in August 1496 despite the surrender and locked up in a dungeon. So ordered Pope Alexander VI, who wanted to carry out the plan to exterminate the Roman barons as a result of the Neapolitan Restoration. The war of the Orsini, however, had an unexpected outcome: it became a brilliant glory for this house, which was threatened with ruin. While Virginio languished in prison in Naples, where he soon died of poison, the young Alviano and his wife Bartolomea, Virginio's sister, defended his Bracciano castle with heroism. The storms of the papal forces were repulsed. Other Orsini brought relief, and the papal army suffered a bloody defeat at Soriano in January 1497. The Pope had to make peace. The Orsini remained victors and masters of Bracciano as of all the other estates in the patrimony. Once again they found themselves in great distress at the hands of Caesar Borgia; but he too was unable to conquer the strong castle of Bracciano, and the death of Alexander finally freed the Orsini from their embarrassment. Gregorovius
Another detail of the fresco by Antoniazzo Romano portraying Piero de' Medici kneeling before Virginio Orsini; it shows the elegance of the costumes of Piero's retinue and the meeting is set under an imaginary Roman triumphal arch which is decorated with reliefs of Tempio di Antonino e Faustina; you may wish to see two actual Early Renaissance arches at Ancona
Piero de' Medici, the son of Lorenzo visited Virginio on his route to Rome to finalize a marriage between one of his sisters and a son of Pope Innocent VIII. In 1488 he married Alfonsina Orsini, a cousin of Virginio; Alfonsina lived in Rome after the death of her husband in a palace which still shows the Medici and Orsini heraldic symbols.
The Orsini were favoured by Pope Leo X, another son of Lorenzo de' Medici, and they maintained close ties with the Medici.
Sala Orsini Medici: coat of arms of P. Giordano Orsini, Ist Duke of Bracciano and his wife Isabella de' Medici
Pius IV raised Bracciano to a duchy in 1560, and this for the benefit of Virginio's great-grandson, Paolo Giordano, a man in whom the mighty nature of his family appeared for the last time. Paolo Giordano Orsini was a person of untameable passion. (..) He fought with glory in Lepanto. His wife was Isabella, the daughter of Cosimo I of Tuscany. She lived mostly apart from him. Unbelievable things were said about her. One day Paolo Giordano strangled her with his own hands in his castle of Cerreto Guidi in Valdarno, in 1576. Gregorovius
Some ceilings were painted by Torlonia, whose coat of arms is often displayed here. The coat of arms of an upstart of the money aristocracy appears alongside that of the ancient Orsini family as a modern irony on the past legitimate baronism. How many ancestors, how many battles and toils, what long stories of wars, peace treaties, treaties, crimes, virtues and fame had to precede before an Orsini built this castle and another acquired the title of duke of Bracciano. The banker Torlonia no longer needed this. He had become rich overnight, and one day he was able to get rid of this very boring story with just a few bills of exchange, put his coat of arms, four gold stars with four thick clusters of gold rays, next to the Rose Orsini and smile as a duke among the hundred dusty ancestral pictures in the castle go around. Because isn't the world a market for sale and junk? Gregorovius
The evidence of the Torlonia tenure of the castle between 1803 and 1848 was removed to bring the halls back to their XVIth century aspect.
Sala del Fregio Orsini: furniture
In the halls of the Orsini Castle, as almost everywhere in baronial castles, there are many family pictures, but mostly from the 17th century. The portraits of the House of Orsini, if owned and assembled, would fill entire galleries, and in the long line of portraits of women every famous manor house in Italy would be represented. Our guide couldn't name anyone, which I regretted. Perhaps the portrait of Isabella Orsini would have been found there. We were, of course, shown her bedroom, although this unfortunate princess may have made little or only a fleeting appearance in this castle. (..)
We passed through high vaulted halls and rows of rooms filled with rococo or modern furniture, notably many cabinets of Parisian woodwork. Gregorovius
In the living apartments are some fine old chairs and carved modern furniture, splendid beds and wardrobes, and infinitesimal washing-apparatus. Hare
In the XXth century the Odescalchi bought some fine XVIth century furniture in the antiquarian market, which, although not original, fits well with the decoration of the halls.
Small Library aka as Sala Papalina, because Pope Sixtus IV is assumed to have slept there in 1481
Some ceilings are decorated with figures by Stucco, but are overloaded and tasteless. Gregorovius
Paolo Giordano Orsini was aware of the luxurious and sophisticated environment in which Isabella grew up and he therefore did not spare resources to turn his baronial castle into a residence where his bride would be happy to live in. Taddeo e Federico Zuccari were in the process of completing the decoration of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese's palace at Caprarola and Paolo Giordano asked them to be involved in the design of some rooms at Bracciano.
Small Library: detail of the ceiling which is characterized by the use of low stucco reliefs and grotesques
The Great Hall has some rapidly-vanishing frescoes of Zucchero, and looks like a place where ten thousand ghosts might hold carnival. Hare.
The extremely rich decoration of the ceilings by the Zuccari did not meet the taste of XIXth century travellers, but it is much finer than that of similar ceilings which in that same period were painted at Palazzo Giustiniani of Bassano and at Palazzo Colonna of Zagarolo.
Studiolo (Study Room) di Baldassarre III Odescalchi
A small room adjoining the Library retains the original decoration of the ceiling which celebrated the title of Duke of Paolo Giordano. Small bears and roses and other symbols, e.g. an owl and a dove, are all references to him and to his virtues.
Studiolo di Baldassarre III Odescalchi: decoration based on the Medici pills
Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, brother of Isabella, decorated his Roman palace with Cupids playing with the pills of the Medici. In this small room it was the bear of the Orsini which played with the Medici pill (also in the image used as background for this page). The murder of Isabella was formally recorded as due to natural causes and Paolo Giordano left Tuscany and returned to live at Bracciano.
Sala d'Ercole, thus named after a XVth century decoration depicting the Labours of Hercules: (left) the Capture of the Cretan Bull; (right) the Fight with Antaeus
In Rome he fell madly in love with the beautiful Vittoria Accoramboni, the wife of Peretti, a nephew of Sixtus V, who was still a cardinal. He had Peretti murdered one night at the Quirinal (June 1583), and three days after the crime Vittoria fled with her mother to the Orsini Palace to her husband's murderer. Gregory XIII forbade her marriage to him and locked her in Castel Sant'Angelo, where she remained until the Pope's death in April 1585. On the day that Sixtus V was elected, Paolo Giordano married Vittoria. The Pope banished his nephew's murderer, and the Orsini soon died in exile. His relatives hated Vittoria, if only because of their claims to part of the fortune. One day, in December 1585, in Padua, where she had been forced to go, she was stabbed by masked men who had forced their way into her room. This was done on behalf of Lodovico Orsini, the lord of Monterotondo. Gregorovius
Sala di Felice della Rovere, natural daughter of Pope Julius II and wife of Gian Giordano Orsini, son of Virginio, or del Trittico after two closing panels of a XVth century triptych portraying the Annunciation
Shortly after the election of Pope Sixtus V Paolo Giordano Orsini preferred to leave Bracciano with his wife taking as an excuse the need to cure himself at Abano, a town known for its mineral springs near Padua in the Republic of Venice. He died in November 1585, perhaps poisoned by order of his brother-in-law Francesco de' Medici.
Do not kiss me, for I shall poison thee. This unctions 's sent from the great Duke of Florence. The White Devil or Vittoria Coramboni, a tragedy written by John Webster in 1612 - Act V |
In his will Paolo Giordano Orsini left a small fortune to his wife to the detriment of other members of the family. Vittoria did not have time to spend her money: the night of Christmas Eve her residence in Padua was assaulted by a gang of assassins hired by the Orsini and Vittoria was stabbed to death.
My soul, like to a ship in a black storm, Is driven, I know not whither. The White Devil or Vittoria Coramboni, a tragedy written by John Webster in 1612 - Act V |
Forty men burst into the house of the aforesaid Lady Accoramboni. They were dressed in strange clothes, worn in such a way that they could not be recognized, not even by their voices, for when they spoke, they called each other by false names.
They first sought out the duchess herself, and when they located her, one of them announced: "Now, it is time to die."
And without giving her even a moment, and even as she was calling out to God, he stabbed her beneath the left breast, and, twisting the knife in every direction, the cruel villain asked her several times if he had yet reached her heart; finally, she breathed her last. Meanwhile, the others were seeking out the brothers of the duchess, one of whom, Marcel, had his life saved by virtue of not having been in the house; the other was stabbed a hundred times. The murderers left the bodies lying on the ground while the entire household was crying out and weeping; and when they had got hold of the strongbox containing the jewels and the money, they left.
Stendhal - Italian Chronicles: Vittoria Accoramboni - 1837 - translated by Raymond N. MacKenzie
In the interior Sir Walter Scott was pleased with the grand suite of state apartments, all yet habitable, and even retaining in some rooms the old furniture and the rich silk hangings of the Orsini and Odescalchi. These chambers overlook the lake, and Sir Walter sat in a window for a long time, during a delightful evening, to enjoy the prospect. (..) Toward the town, a range of smaller apartments are more convenient, except during the heats of summer, than the great rooms for a small party, and in these we dined and found chambers for sleeping. At night we had tea and a large fire, and Sir Walter conversed cheerfully. (..) On coming down next morning I found that Sir Walter, who rose early, had already made another tour over part of the Castle. After breakfast we set out on our return to Rome.
Sir William Gell - Sir Walter Scott in Rome in 1832
These rooms appear dark and uninhabitable, only the view of the lake from the deep windows is beautiful. The needs of our civilization in general are just as far removed from those of that baronial era as the Villa Doria Pamfili or Albani are from this Orsini castle. Only a baronial family could feel at home and comfortable in it, which kept its barbaric privileges and passions entrenched behind thick lava walls, while the swarm of submissive vassals and slave servants obeyed the lord's beck and call over their property and their lives. Only ambitious thoughts of domination, power and war could breathe behind these walls, but the voice of grace and muse could hardly be heard here. Gregorovius
On the upper floor is the Hall of Justice, where the Orsini barons, who had the right of appointing magistrates, and being judges in their own persons, used for several centuries to sit in judgment upon their dependants. Hare
Sala dei Cesari or Sala della Giustizia is the main hall of the side facing the lake. It was horizontally divided in order to obtain another large hall (Sala delle Armi) where the Odescalchi collection of armours and weapons is on display.
Busts of Emperors Vitellius (left) and Vespasian (right) from Palazzo Giustiniani di Bassano
In 1777 Caterina Giustiniani married Baldassarre III Odescalchi. Their son Innocenzo inherited the title of Prince of Bassano and its baronial palace which housed busts of the Twelve Caesars, i.e. Julius Caesar and the first eleven emperors (the last being Domitian) which were placed there by the Giustiniani, who were renowned for their collection of antiquities. Over time the Odescalchi lost interest in their Bassano palace and moved the busts to Bracciano.
Sala delle Armi (above Sala dei Cesari): Odescalchi collection of mainly XVIth century weapons and armours, including one which belonged to a Knight of Malta
The Odescalchi are very proud of their home, though they are not often here. Some years ago, poverty obliged them to sell their castle, but they did so with aching hearts, and when it was bought by Prince Torlonia, a reservation was made, that if the wheel of their fortunes should revolve within a limited space of years, they should be allowed to buy it back again at the same price which he had given. Torlonia felt secure, spent much time and money at Bracciano, and was devoted to his new purchase. As the time was drawing to a conclusion, all doubt as to the future vanished from his mind, but, just in time, the fortune of the Princess-mother Odescalchi enabled the family to redeem their pledge, and the former possessors returned, to their own triumph and the delight of the inhabitants. Hare
The collection of armours and weapons is mainly the result of the late XIXth century passion of the Odescalchi family and in particular of Ladislao Odescalchi (1846-1922).
Other exhibits of the Odescalchi collection including a complete German armour and a culverin, a Renaissance small cannon with the Odescalchi coat of arms
Return to the page on the town or move to Trevignano and Anguillara.
Introductory page on Ferdinand Gregorovius
Other walks by Ferdinand Gregorovius:
The Roman Campagna: Colonna and Zagarolo; Palestrina; Cave; Genazzano; Olevano; Paliano; Anagni
The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino,
Frosinone, Alatri, Ceccano, Ceprano, Fiuggi (Anticoli di Campagna), Piglio and Acuto
The Volsci Mountains:
Valmontone; Segni and Gavignano; Norma; Cori
On the Latin shores: Anzio; Nettuno and Torre Astura
Circe's Cape: Terracina and San Felice
Subiaco, the oldest Benedictine monastery
Small towns near Subiaco: Cervara, Rocca Canterano, Trevi and Filettino.