Lazio · Roma
Anguillara Sabazia
A medieval cape town jutting into Lake Bracciano, twenty-five kilometers from Rome, built above a 5700 BC Neolithic lakeshore village.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Anguillara Sabazia is on our list.
The nearest town with a letter is Cerveteri, No. 67, 18 km away.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 50 min from Rome
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 19,038
- J12°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J32°
- A32°
- S26°
- O22°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Anguillara Sabazia sits on a small volcanic cape that pushes into Lake Bracciano from the southern shore, twenty-five kilometers northwest of Rome. The medieval town climbs from the lake on stepped streets to the Porta Maggiore and the Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta at the top. The setting is older than the medieval town: La Marmotta, a few hundred meters offshore from the cape, is one of the oldest underwater archaeological sites in Europe, an Early Neolithic lakeshore village dated to 5700 BC, with preserved wooden canoes and grain stores in the lakebed mud.
The Romans came later: Rutilia Polla, a Roman patrician, owned a villa on the cape in the first century BC, and the modern town name carries the surname of the medieval Anguillara family who took the place after the empire. Anguillara is one of three communes on Lake Bracciano with Bracciano and Trevignano, and it is the closest to Rome of the three.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 47 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 53 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 2 h 20 min or Pescara 2 h 48 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Roma Termini? Anguillara Sabazia is about 52 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Porta Maggiore e centro storico
Medieval gate and stepped town climbing from the lakefront on the volcanic cape, with stone streets converging on the upper piazza.
Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Main church at the top of the cape, rebuilt in the sixteenth century on earlier foundations, with views over the lake from the parvis.
Lungolago e cape
Lakefront promenade and small beaches along the cape, with views east to Trevignano and west to Bracciano across the volcanic basin.
La Marmotta (underwater)
Submerged Early Neolithic lakeshore village dated to 5700 BC, a few hundred meters offshore, with wooden canoes and grain preserved in the mud.
Lago di Martignano
Smaller crater lake two kilometers north, reserved for swimming and rowing, accessible from Anguillara on foot or by car.
Living here
Could you live here?
Anguillara Sabazia meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 19,038 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Fiumicino, a city of 82,829, is 37 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 19,038, up 0.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Fiumicino, 37 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Bracciano, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,150 to €1,700 per m² to buy, €5.30 to €7.50 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 86% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO), 47 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Rome, 50 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Poland and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 99 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and France. There are 195 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 6% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Rome province ranks 46th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Bracciano, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Rome, 27 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Rome, 27 km away. The nearest IB school is Institut Saint-Dominique, 16 km as the crow flies. There are 7 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lazio spends about €2,270 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €647 a year for water, on the Lazio average. In Rome, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.21, a meal in a pizzeria €11.54 and a man's haircut €17.23.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
LA MARMOTTA
Underwater Neolithic village dated to 5700 BC, one of the oldest preserved lakeshore settlements in Europe, with wooden canoes and grain stores.
LAKE BRACCIANO
One of three communes on the volcanic crater lake; Anguillara holds the southern shore and is the closest of the three to Rome.
THE CAPE
Small volcanic promontory pushed into the lake, with the medieval town built end-to-end across it from lakefront to upper church.
Common questions
- What is Anguillara Sabazia known for?
- Anguillara Sabazia is a medieval cape town jutting into Lake Bracciano, twenty-five kilometers from Rome, built above a 5700 BC Neolithic lakeshore village.
- Where is Anguillara Sabazia?
- Anguillara Sabazia is a comune in the province of Roma, in Lazio, at 195 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Anguillara Sabazia?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 47 min by car.
- Can you get to Anguillara Sabazia without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Anguillara Sabazia?
- About 2 h 20 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Anguillara Sabazia?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Anguillara Sabazia?
- Lonato del Garda, Peschiera del Garda and Riva del Garda.
- How many people live in Anguillara Sabazia?
- 19,038 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Anguillara Sabazia a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Anguillara Sabazia is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Fiumicino, is 37 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Bracciano, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 86% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 195 m
- Population: 19,038
- Surface area: 75.24 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Anguillara Sabazia appears in
- The 7 best lake towns in LazioLaziolake7 towns · smallest 1,650 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train in the province of RomaRoma provinceby train8 towns · smallest 8,543 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of RomeNear Romeby trainwithin 60 min9 towns · smallest 4,957 residents · closest 31 min away
- 10 small towns in Italy where everyday life is a walkLiguriaeveryday life on foot5,000 to 20,000 people10 towns · smallest 5,050 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park in the province of RomaRoma provinceinside a park10 towns · smallest 217 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 67.
Cerveteri
Province: Roma
An Etruscan capital seven kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian coast, with the Banditaccia necropolis holding 1,000 tombs in the largest ancient cemetery in the Mediterranean.
18 km away
- Written about. No. 64.
Capranica
Province: Viterbo
A medieval hill town on the old Via Cassia, taken by the Anguillara family in 1305 and remembered as the place Petrarch stayed in 1337.
21 km away
- Written about. No. 58.
Ronciglione
Province: Viterbo
A tufa-brick borgo above Lake Vico, fortified by the Prefects of Vico and crowned Borgo dei Borghi in 2023.
23 km away
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 23 km away
Tuscia: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Tuscia guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The land Rome took twice. 16 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.