Caprarola: The Pentagonal Farnese Palace That Vignola Built in the Middle of a Lazio Hill Town
The Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola (1559–1583) was built on the foundations of a pentagonal fortress, the military necessity of defending the Farnese estate against the constant factional wars of 16th-century central Italy produced the unusual footprint, which Vignola then turned into a formal architectural feature of extraordinary sophistication. The five-sided exterior, the circular interior courtyard, the spiral staircase, and the Renaissance garden cascading down the hillside behind the palace constitute the single most coherent 16th-century architectural program in Lazio outside Rome. Approximately 30,000 visitors per year. Compare this to the Borghese Gallery's 130,000.
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The Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola: Architecture and History
The Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola (Via Filippo Nicolai 2, Caprarola, Viterbo province, coopculture.it/caprarola, €10, open Tuesday–Sunday 9am–5pm in winter, 9am–7pm in summer. Guided tour included, departing every 45 minutes) was commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese the Younger (the grandson of Pope Paul III, the member of the most powerful Italian family of the 16th century, the Farnese who also commissioned Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio and the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, the most concentrated single-family architectural patronage in Renaissance Italy) in 1559. The commission to Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (Vignola, the most important Italian architect of the generation after Michelangelo, the author of the Regola delli Cinque Ordini d'Architettura, the architectural treatise that defined the classical orders for the next 300 years, and the designer of the Gesù church in Rome) produced the most technically complex single building in Vignola's career.
The specific architectural solutions: The pentagonal exterior: The five-sided exterior wall (each side approximately 60m long) was dictated by the pentagonal fortress footprint that Cardinal Farnese's uncle had begun in the 1520s. Vignola's solution, rather than adapting the pentagon to a more conventional palace form, was to embrace it, making the irregular five-sided perimeter into a formal design statement and resolving the internal circulation problem by placing a circular courtyard at the center of the pentagon. The circular courtyard inside the pentagonal exterior is the specific Caprarola visual paradox that makes the building memorable. The Scala Regia: The Scala Regia (the Royal Staircase, the double spiral staircase in the northeast tower, accessible from the courtyard) is Vignola's most elegant single invention: the staircase spirals around a central column with the two flights separated so that ascending and descending traffic never meet, the columns Doric at the base graduating to Ionic and Corinthian at the top, the barrel vault ceiling painted by the Zuccari brothers. The staircase at Caprarola influenced Bernini's Scala Regia in the Vatican (1663) and the Versailles ceremonial staircase, the most influential single staircase design in European architecture.
The Farnese Garden: The Most Complete Renaissance Garden in Lazio: The Giardino Farnese (the formal garden cascading down the hillside behind the palace, included in the guided tour, accessible from the rear of the palace courtyard) is the most complete example of the 16th-century Italian garden design in Lazio: the water feature cascade (the central axis water stair descending through a series of sculpted basins, the rain god's face at the top releasing water that descends through the carved channels, the most specifically Renaissance water garden element in the region), the bosco (the formal woodland on both sides of the garden axis, the plane trees and the box hedges at their maximum 460-year maturity), the Palazzina del Piacere (the summer pleasure house in the garden, the small casino where the Cardinal entertained informally, the most intimate Farnese building, with the most complete surviving 16th-century interior decoration in the Lazio garden tradition). The garden walk (included in the €10 palace ticket): 45–60 minutes for the full garden circuit from the casino to the water stair and back. In June, the jasmine and the rose garden flanking the water stair are at their most aromatic. In October, the plane trees are in full color.
Dome of church in Palazzo Farnese (Caprarola) · photo Livioandronico2013 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Getting to Caprarola From Rome
Caprarola is 62km from Rome, the most accessible significant Lazio day trip that few Rome-based visitors make. Access options: By car: The A1 Autostrada to Viterbo (exit at Orte, then the SS204 to Viterbo and the SP11 to Caprarola. 75 minutes total from the Rome ring road). The most practical car day trip: combine Caprarola with the Lago di Vico (the volcanic lake 5km from Caprarola, the Riserva Naturale del Lago di Vico, the lake in the Vico volcano caldera, the most ecologically pristine Lazio volcanic lake, accessible on the circumlacual road, the lakeside picnic area the most specifically Cimina forest environment) and the Cimino chestnut festival in October if timing permits. By bus: The COTRAL bus from Rome Saxa Rubra (metro B + tram 2 from Roma Termini to Saxa Rubra) to Caprarola direct, approximately 90 minutes, €5–6, check cotralspa.it for current timetable. The bus drops at the Caprarola piazza. The palace is 800m up the main street through the historic center. The Caprarola town itself: The historic center of Caprarola (the medieval street plan completely dominated by the Palazzo Farnese at the upper end, the palace isn't at the edge of the town but at its summit, so that the entire town functions as the ceremonial approach to the Farnese complex, the most specifically planned Renaissance urban intervention in Lazio) has the Bar della Piazza (the oldest bar in town, the morning espresso and cornetto that every Capralarole starts their day with) and the Ristorante Anfiteatro Flavio (Via Filippo Nicolai, the most specifically local lunch option for palace visitors).
How do you visit the Villa Farnese at Caprarola?
Villa Farnese Caprarola (the Palazzo Farnese, Via Filippo Nicolai 2, Caprarola, Viterbo province, coopculture.it/caprarola): tickets €10, open Tuesday–Sunday (closed Monday), winter 9am–5pm, summer 9am–7pm. Guided tours depart every 45 minutes. The last guided tour entrance is 1 hour before closing. The visit includes: the pentagonal exterior and the circular courtyard (the central architectural paradox of the building), the Scala Regia (the double spiral staircase by Vignola, the most influential staircase in European architecture), the Sala del Mappamondo (the room with the 16th-century world map frescoes, the Zuccari brothers' cartographic fresco, the most complete 16th-century geographical worldview in Italy), and the Giardino Farnese (the formal Renaissance garden with the water stair cascade and the Palazzina del Piacere). From Rome: by car 75 minutes on the A1 to Orte then SS204. By COTRAL bus from Saxa Rubra 90 minutes. No advance booking typically required. Caprarola's low visitor numbers (30,000/year) mean that walk-in entry is almost always possible. Related: Lazio guide.
The Farnese Family and Italian Renaissance Power
The Farnese family is the single most consequential Italian aristocratic family in Renaissance history, the architectural and artistic patronage they generated rivals and in some respects exceeds the Medici. The specific Farnese contributions: Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese Sr., pope 1534–1549, the pope who commissioned Michelangelo's Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, who established the Council of Trent, who confirmed the Jesuit order, and who commissioned the Palazzo Farnese in Rome and began Piazza del Campidoglio). The Palazzo Farnese in Rome (the largest and most complete 16th-century palace in Rome, begun by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, completed by Michelangelo, now the French Embassy, the most architecturally prestigious occupied diplomatic building in the world). And the Caprarola Villa (the Cardinal's country residence, the subject of this guide). The Farnese collection (the extraordinary art collection assembled by Cardinal Farnese and his successors) is now partly in Naples (the Farnese Hercules and the Farnese Bull in the Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Napoli, the most dramatic ancient sculptures in any Italian collection) and partly in Rome (the Palazzo Farnese artefacts). The Farnese are the most architecturally literate Italian family in history. Related: Lazio guide.
Plan Your Caprarola Day Trip From Rome
Palace opening times and guided tour schedule, the Lago di Vico circumlacual road circuit combination, COTRAL bus Saxa Rubra to Caprarola timetable, and the Sala del Mappamondo 16th-century world map fresco guide.
Panorama of Caprarola · photo Livioandronico2013 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Italy's Extraordinary Bread Traditions: Beyond the Focaccia
Italian bread (the pane) is the most regional and most varied in Europe, the specific bread of each Italian town is often as place-specific as the wine. The most extraordinary Italian bread traditions:
Pane di Altamura (Puglia, the oldest named Italian bread): The Pane di Altamura DOP (the large round loaf, 0.5-3kg, made from the remilled durum wheat semolina of the Alta Murgia plateau, the specific Pugliese durum wheat variety Senatore Cappelli, the sourdough starter, and the wood-fired oven) has been produced in the Altamura area for at least 2,000 years, the Roman poet Horace described it in the 1st century BC as the finest bread he encountered on Via Appia. The DOP designation (2003) specifies the exact geographical zone, the exact wheat variety, the exact fermentation time (minimum 90 minutes), and the exact baking temperature. The pane di Altamura keeps fresh for 5-7 days without refrigeration (the high gluten content and the sourdough acidity producing the most shelf-stable Italian bread). Available at the Altamura bakeries directly (the most authentic buy) or at Puglia agriturismo (farm stay) and restaurants throughout the region. Coppia Ferrarese (Emilia-Romagna, the most sculptural): The Coppia Ferrarese IGP (the twisted pair bread of Ferrara, the specific shape: two rolled lengths of dough twisted together and folded in a specific Ferrara-exclusive form, baked until crunchy, the lard in the dough producing the specific Ferrarese fat-enriched flavour) is the most architecturally specific Italian bread. Available only in Ferrara and the immediate province, the most specifically localised Italian bread with a guaranteed origin designation. The Ferrara bakeries on Via Garibaldi produce the finest Coppia: the Pasticceria Perdonati (Via Garibaldi 45, Ferrara) is the most specifically traditional. Related: Italy food guide.
What are Italy's most famous regional breads?
Italy's most significant regional bread traditions: Pane di Altamura DOP (Puglia, the durum wheat sourdough round loaf, 2,000-year tradition, 5-7 day shelf life, the bread Horace praised on Via Appia). Pane di Matera IGP (Basilicata, the close relative of the Altamura, the specific Matera cave-oven tradition, available at the Matera bakeries and the Sassi restaurants). Coppia Ferrarese IGP (Emilia-Romagna, the twisted pair bread, lard-enriched, the most specifically sculptural Italian bread form, available only in Ferrara). Focaccia di Recco IGP (Liguria, the specific Recco stuffed focaccia, two thin layers of unleavened dough enclosing the crescenza cheese, the most technically difficult Italian flatbread, available only in the Recco area, 20km from Genova). And the Pane di Lariano (the Castelli Romani bread, the large wheel loaf from the Lariano hills south of Rome, the most traditionally Roman bread type, available at the Lariano market and the Rome traditional bakeries). All are best bought and consumed locally, most degrade within 24-48 hours of baking except the Altamura.
Italy's Extraordinary Tapestry Tradition: The Gobelins of the Italian Renaissance
Italian tapestry weaving (the arazzeria, the tapestry workshop tradition) was the most expensive single art form in Renaissance Europe and the primary vehicle for transferring major Italian paintings into portable, reproducible form. The most significant Italian tapestry heritages:
The Raphael tapestries (Vatican, the most historically consequential): The 10 tapestries woven from Raphael's cartoons (the specific preparatory drawings, the Raphael Tapestry Cartoons, seven of which survive at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the remaining three lost, depicting scenes from the Acts of the Apostles) were commissioned by Pope Leo X and woven in Brussels by Pieter van Aelst between 1515 and 1519. The tapestries (now in the Vatican Museums, Sala dell'Arazzo, included in the standard Vatican museum ticket) are the most historically consequential tapestry commission in history: Raphael's cartoons were the models from which three next generations of European tapestry weavers worked, the compositions establishing the iconographic vocabulary for Flemish and French tapestry for 150 years. The Vatican tapestries' specific character: Raphael designed them to hang in the Sistine Chapel as a complement to Michelangelo's ceiling, the two most important Italian art commissions of the 1510s were designed for the same space, the ceiling and the walls of the most important room in Christendom. The Mediceo tapestries (Florence, the most complete surviving set): The Palazzo Vecchio Sala dei Duecento (the Hall of the Two Hundred, the largest room in the Palazzo Vecchio, accessible on the Palazzo Vecchio visit, €12, Piazza della Signoria) has the original tapestries woven in the Medici tapestry workshop founded by Cosimo I in 1545, the most complete surviving example of the specifically Florentine tapestry tradition. Related: Florence art guide.
Where can you see historic tapestries in Italy?
Italy's most significant historic tapestry collections: Vatican Museums Sala dell'Arazzo (the Raphael-cartoon tapestries, 1515-1519, included in the standard Vatican ticket, the most historically consequential tapestry commission in European history). The Palazzo Vecchio Florence (the Mediceo tapestries in the Sala dei Duecento, €12 Palazzo Vecchio entry). The Museo di Capodimonte Naples (the Farnese tapestry collection, including the Battle of Pavia series 1531, the most complete Spanish-patronage tapestry set in Italy, €12 museum entry). And the Palazzo del Te Mantua (the specific Giulio Romano-designed tapestry series, the most complete single-artist tapestry commission in Italy, €12 entry). The most specifically Italian tapestry experience: the Vatican tapestries in the Sistine Chapel anteroom, seeing the Raphael tapestries and then entering the Michelangelo Sistine ceiling in the same visit is the most concentrated single papal art commission experience available in Italy.
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