Bracciano

This is a small town some 30+ kilometers from the center of Rome.  I picked our inn here from Karen Brown's other book on Italy which lists "exceptional places to stay" which aren't B&B's. This is the Villa Clementina which was once the home of a famous artist, Lorenzo Vespignani.  The current owner is also an artist who has painted frescoes on the walls of the rooms as well as making the lamps and the beds in the rooms (or at least that is what Karen Brown says).

One of the frescoes in our room

Other views from around the property  

We took the time to relax around the pool for an hour or so and spent the rest of the afternoon in Bracciano which is the home of a very nice looking medieval castle

which was closed because a movie was being filmed in it.  There is also a museum which was closed because.... well, I'm not sure why.  However, the museum gift shop was open and those draw Gail like a magnet so we went in and got to watch a group of actors rehearsing a scene from Dante's Inferno around a well in the courtyard.  The director was quite grumpy about our watching so we don't have any pictures-you'll just have to take our word for it.

By happy coincidence, Carol Brown, one of Gail's cousins, was touring Rome on this date with her granddaughter Kate.  They took the train out to join us for a great dinner at Villa Clementina

On Thursday, the 6th of July, we dropped Alison and Judie of at the Rome airport, turned in our large Fiat Chroma and checked out a brand new Fiat Punto and continued on south.

Continued on Page 11