On five hectares of land overlooking Lake Bracciano, San Liberato is one of the estates owned by the noble Odescalchi family, who also own Castello Orsini/Odescalchi in the town of Bracciano. (Yes, it's the castle is the where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were married.) For centuries, it was Bracciano family seat of one of Rome's most powerful families, the Orsini.
Just outside Bracciano's historic town center, on one of the region’s most elegant country estates, San Liberato encompasses a splendid Romanesque church. Chestnut groves, planted in the 16th century, still extend the distance of the property as far as the eye can see.
But the botanical garden didn't get underway until the land was acquired by the Countess Odescalchi and her spouse Count Sanminiatelli. The couple entrusted the design and creation of the garden to the celebrated British landscaper, Russell Page (1906-1985), who began planting in 1964. Less than a decade later, the property was lush with rare trees and imported plants: Canadian maples, Japanese cherry, Asian flowering and Central American liquidambar and parrotie persiche grow side by side with camphor, liododendri and nycee. A section of the garden is dedicated to acid-phile plants, beautiful compositions of camelias, rhododendron, fragrant three-leaved Choysia and black bamboo. San Liberato also boasts a paradisical rose garden with innumerable varieties and colors. Open Saturdays and Sundays from April 1st until the end of November.