Bracciano: Loads of Airplanes & a Castle with a View

One of the towns we visited was Bracciano, which is on the shores of beautiful Lake Bracciano. However, before heading to the city to tour its famous castle, we stopped at the Italian Air Force Museum, which is located nearby at the birthplace of Italian aviation. 

The museum was very interesting and we learned a lot about the history of Italian aviation, which started shortly after aviation in the US when one of the Wright brothers, on a tour of Europe, taught the first Italians to fly. There were several WWI (and earlier) era planes on display.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the museum was the period between the "great" wars when Italy was a world leader in long-range and high-speed aviation. These planes were predominantly sea planes, as there was not a lot of infrastructure for landing planes on land. As a result, some of the earliest trans-atlantic flights were done in planes than could land on water. The planes in the photo below were specifically built to enter in annual speed trials that took place for years, and which Italy won many times.

At the beginning of WWII, Italy was still a leader in aviation, and there were a number of WWII-era prop planes in the museum. However, Italy did not effectively make the transition to jet engines, and its dominance faded before the war ended.

Note the smaller plane under the wing of the larger plane in the photo on the left, above. Clearly, aircraft were fulfilling many roles for Italy (and other countries) in WWII.

The plane below was highly innovative. Notice the large windows, which made it useful as a spy plane. In addition, the plane was capable of landing and taking off in very short distances, making it useful for rescue attempts (including a successful one of Mussolini during the war), while its foldable wings meant it could be transported by train.

Overall, we very much enjoyed the  museum, which reminded us of our visits to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Museum in the Marlbourough region of New Zealand in 2022 and 2023. But, because every plane Italy has ever used was present, this museum was in many ways superior, while the Omaka museum's presentation and docents were more entertaining.

We had lunch at a Apulian restaurant in Bracciano, before heading up to the Castle of Bracciano. The castle was built around 1475 by the Orsini family, one of the more powerful families in this area of Italy starting in the middle ages. The castle is large and well-preserved.

Walking on the ramparts provided great views of Lake Bracciano, the city, and the surrounding area.

The interior of the Castle is well maintained, and we were able to visit many rooms that had been set up as they appeared during the Rennaisance period, when the Orsini family was at the height of its power.

One of the most interesting stories we learned is that the Orsinis were the basis for much of the fiction written about the Italian Rennaisance. This includes the character of Orsino, the protagonist of Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night, who was inspired by the Second Duke of Bracciano, Virsinio Orsini, after he visited the court of Elizabeth I.

Later, we went to a small, local gelato shop and had some of the best gelato we have ever tasted.

Ah, Italy.

More soon.

Jeff and Shana