The patron saint of Bracciano is Saint Sebastian, celebrated on 20 January in the church dedicated to him. The town stands in a dominant position over the lake of the same name, of volcanic origin, on the western crest of the ancient Sabatino volcano, in the heart of the Tuscia Romana.
In 1419 Pope Martin V granted the fief, once a modest village of fishermen and farmers, in vicariate to a branch of the Orsini family, that of Pitigliano, tying its fate from then on to one of the most powerful baronial families of the time. It was Napoleone Orsini, from 1470, together with his son Virginio, who transformed the old Vico stronghold into the majestic castle that is today the town's most characteristic symbol, while in 1548 Orsini rule extended as far as Anguillara. The family's financial difficulties led in 1696 to the sale of Bracciano and its ducal rank to the Odescalchi family, who still own the castle today: after a brief passage to the Torlonia family in 1803, it was Prince Livio III Odescalchi who reacquired it in 1848 with the dowry of his wife, the Polish princess Sofia Branicka.
