Lake Martignano (Italian: Lago di Martignano), is a small

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy north-north-west of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in an extinct crater or

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallo ...

. Administratively its coast is divided amongst the municipalities of

Anguillara Sabazia Anguillara Sabazia is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, around northwest of Rome. It nestles on a small cape on the coast of Lake Bracciano; its medieval center and its beach make it a popular destinati ...

and

Campagnano di Roma Campagnano di Roma is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome. It was first mentioned in 1076, having been carved out of the great estate assembled on the Roman p ...

Overview

In ancient times Lake Martignano was part of southern

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...

and called Alsietinus Lacus.

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

drew from it the Aqua Alsietina; the water was hardly fit to drink, and was mainly intended to supply his

naumachia The naumachia (in Latin , from the Ancient Greek /, literally "naval combat") in the Ancient Roman world referred to both the staging of naval battles as mass entertainment, and the basin or building in which this took place. Early The fir ...

(lake made for a sham naval battle) at Rome, near

San Francesco a Ripa San Francesco a Ripa is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Francis of Assisi who once stayed at the adjacent convent. The term ''Ripa'' refers to the nearby riverbank of the Tiber. History The origins of this church are related to a Fr ...

, on the right bank of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

, where some traces of the aqueduct were perhaps found in 1720. The course of the aqueduct, which was mainly subterranean, is practically unknown:

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...

tells us that it received a branch from

Lake Bracciano Lake Bracciano ( it, Lago di Bracciano) is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circu ...

near

Careiae Careiae ( it, Galera) was an ancient town of Etruria, on the Via Clodia, the first station beyond Veii. The town is mentioned by Frontinus and appears in the Tabula Peutingeriana. Its site is at the abandoned village of Galera, approximately 25& ...

( Galera): and an inscription relating to it was found in this district in 1887. cites F. Barnabei, ''Notizie degli Scavi'', 1887, 181. There is a lawn beach, lake-side cafes and restaurants, and walking tracks.

Nearby towns

Bracciano Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake (Lake Bracciano, Lago di Bracciano or "Sabatino", the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medie ...

Trevignano Romano Trevignano Romano is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. With a population of about 5,000, it is located on the volcanic Lake Bracciano. It is about away from Rome. History The presence of people ...

* Oriolo Romano * Sutri * Capranica * Cesano

Notes

References

Attribution: *

Overview

Nearby towns

Notes

References

Further reading