The Palazzo Farnese di Caprarola is both a fortress and a palace built on a pre-existing building, designed by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-1573).
The grandiose work was commissioned in the late 40s of the sixteenth century by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese the Younger (1520-1589) at a particular time for the family, in order to celebrate the enormous power achieved by the Farnese.
The palace, a five-story pentagon with a circular courtyard inscribed inside it, was built in just twenty-five years, under the strict control of the works of the same architect and his brother. Every detail of the building had to be super-precise, what would become a masterpiece of the second Renaissance was being prepared.
The building, which contains an exclusive space made to glorify the name of the Farnese, offers an irresistible journey through architecture, Renaissance symbolism, Renaissance / Mannerist painting that tells the story of the family.
The Grand Cardinal, Alessandro, nephew of Pope Paul III Farnese (1468-1549), wanted a work that would set the times and spared no expense.
He called in the best iconographers and artists who existed at the time to have the very large surface of frescoes created that tell the rise to power of the Farnese, their important role in the Pontifical Court and in the Courts of Europe.
The tour will lead you from the small square in front of the palace, to the ground floor with the circular courtyard and the Sala delle Guardie.
You then enter the Noble Floor by climbing the spiral staircase, called Scala Regia for the skill with which it was designed and built by Vignola.
After admiring the many frescoed rooms on the Noble Floor, you enter the lower Gardens. You go up to the terraced park and the Great Gardens built into the slope of a hill, to arrive at a sequence of monumental fountains with water features and the Casina del Pleasure, the summer residence of Cardinal Alessandro.
Boxwood labyrinths with fountains and sculptures sculpted by Pietro Bernini (1562-1629), father of Gian Lorenzo, extend all around the frescoed house.
The Grandi Giardini were designed by Vignola, but the first executor was Giacomo del Duca (1520-1604), while the Casina del pleasure was built by Giovanni Antonio Garzoni (1537-1596).
At the end of the guided tour it is possible to take advantage of a tasting of typical products in a characteristic restaurant in the village of Caprarola, upon reservation.
There are many combinations to visit the Palazzo Farnese in the second part of the day. For info and booking guided tours:
www.assoguideviterbo.it
Tel. 339 8897492
email: info@guideturisticheviterbo.it
Guided tours for schools / adult groups in Italian, French, Spanish, English, Hungarian
Tour 1-6 days in the province of Viterbo
Suggestions for your stay
Tour planning
