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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in April 2011.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

In and About Viterbo Bagnaia - the Town
(Papal Loggia in Viterbo)

(above) Medieval part of Bagnara with the Bisops' Palace; (below) Renaissance section
(above) "Cittą di dentro" the medieval part of Bagnara with the Bishops' Palace; (below) "cittą di fuori" the Renaissance quarter leading to Villa Lante

Bagnaia is a small town on the slopes of Monte Cimino a few miles from Viterbo, known in medieval times for its thermal water (bagno, bath). In the late XVth century it became the summer residence of the bishops of Viterbo, many of whom were important cardinals; in the following century they built a villa which was linked to the old town by a new quarter; thus Bagnaia is made of two distinct parts: the old one (cittą di dentro, inside town) with a very medieval aspect and the new one (cittą di fuori, outside town).

(left) Renaissance fountain and tower protecting the entrance to old Bagnaia; (right) gate of old Bagnaia
(left) Renaissance fountain and tower protecting the only entrance to old Bagnaia; (right) gate of old Bagnaia crossing the Bishops' Palace with a coat of arms of Pope Alexander VII

Cardinal Raffaele Riario, a relative of Pope Sixtus IV, was in charge of Viterbo in 1498-1506; he felt that the Bishops' Palace was too modest a residence for him (in the meantime he was building Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome) and he started the process which led to today's town. In addition to Cardinal Riario, the development of Bagnaia is associated with two other cardinals: a) Cardinal Gian Francesco Gambara, who was bishop of Viterbo in 1566-76 and who had family bonds with the Farnese and with Cardinal Carlo Borromeo; b) Cardinal Alessandro Peretti Montalto, a relative of Pope Sixtus V who in 1590-1612, completed the villa initiated by his predecessors.

Main gate of Bagnaia and coat of arms of the Lante
(left) Main square of old Bagnaia with a fountain built by Cardinal Montalto; (right) coat of arms of the Lante Della Rovere

Life in old Bagnaia centred around a small square surrounded on two sides by the Bishop's Palace, which in 1656 became a possession of Ippolito Lante, Duke of Bomarzo, together with the villa; Ippolito Lante owned in Rome a villa, small in size, but with a grand view over the city. All the inhabitants had to come to the square to collect water from the fountain decorated with the heraldic symbols of Cardinal Montalto (which you can also see in the image in the background of this page).

(left) Palace built by cardinal Raffele Riario; (right) coat of arms of the cardinal
(left) Palace built by Cardinal Raffele Riario; (right) coat of arms of the cardinal

The building shown above was for some time the Town Hall of Bagnaia; it is decorated with an elaborate coat of arms of Cardinal Riario, very similar to those which embellish Palazzo della Cancelleria; this coat of arms is surrounded by cocks (It. galli) a reference to Jacopo Galli, an advisor to the cardinal. Paintings on the walls of the loggia show other coats of arms, including that of Cardinal Antonio Barberini the Younger, nephew of Pope Urban VIII, but they are in poor condition.

Views of old Bagnaia
Views of old Bagnaia

Old Bagnaia is surrounded by a deep ravine on three sides and the only access to it is through the gate in the Bishops' Palace; for this reason it has retained its medieval aspect.

Loggia of the Bishops' Palace
Loggia of the Bishops' Palace

The Bishops' Palace is also known as Palazzo della Loggia, for the loggia on its external side, which Cardinals Gambara and Montalto decorated with paintings showing views of towns and mythological episodes, subjects similar to those which decorate the villa.

(left) S. Giovanni Battista; (right) S. Rocco
(left) S. Giovanni Battista; (right) S. Rocco

In 1576 Cardinal Gambara promoted the enlargement of Bagnaia by opening three streets departing from the old town; a large church was built at their point of departure; a scheme similar to that of Piazza del Popolo. Cardinal Gambara also built an octagonal chapel on the road to S. Maria della Querce and Viterbo; it was dedicated to St. Roch so it was probably built to celebrate the end of a pestilence, as this saint is specifically invoked against the plague.


Move to page two - Villa Lante.
In and about Viterbo - other pages:
Viterbo
Bagnoregio
Bomarzo
Orte and Vasanello
S. Maria della Querce
S. Martino al Cimino
Tuscania
Vitorchiano


Pages on towns of Latium other than Rome In the Duchy of Castro: Farnese, Ischia di Castro, Valentano, Gradoli, Capodimonte, Marta In Maremma: Corneto (Tarquinia), Montalto, Canino A Pilgrim's Way: Via Francigena: Acquapendente, Bolsena, Montefiascone In and about Viterbo: Viterbo, Bagnoregio, S. Martino al Cimino, Tuscania, Bomarzo, S. Maria della Querce, Bagnaia, Orte, Vasanello, Vitorchiano From Civitavecchia to Civita Castellana: Civitavecchia, Tolfa, Allumiere, Oriolo Romano, Capranica, Sutri, Bassano, Monterosi, Nepi, Castel d'Elia, Civita Castellana From Bracciano to Viterbo: Manziana, Canale Monterano, Vejano, Barbarano, Blera, Vetralla Around Monte Cimino: Ronciglione, Caprarola, Carbognano, Fabrica, Corchiano, Vignanello, Vallerano, Soriano The Bracciano Lake: Bracciano, Trevignano, Anguillara At the foot of Monte Soratte: S. Oreste, Rignano, Faleria Land of the Romans' wives: Montopoli, Poggio Mirteto, Casperia, Cantalupo, Roccantica Sentinels on the Highway: Fiano Romano, Civitella S. Paolo, Nazzano, Torrita Tiberina, Filacciano, Ponzano Along Via Aurelia: Palidoro, Palo, S. Severa and S. Marinella A Walk to Malborghetto: Prima Porta, Malborghetto Branching off Via Cassia: S. Maria di Galeria, Formello, Isola Farnese To Nomentum and beyond: Mentana, Monterotondo, Palombara A Walk to Ponte di Nona: ancient monuments along Via Prenestina Via Appia Antica A short and delicious digression: Tivoli, Montecompatri, Monte Porzio Catone, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Marino, Castelgandolfo, Albano, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora, Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio), Porto, Ostia Where the painters found their models: Anticoli Corrado, Castelmadama, Vicovaro, Arsoli Subiaco The Roman Campagna: Palestrina, Genazzano, Paliano, Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino, Alatri The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone, Colonna, Segni, Norma, Cori On the Latin Shores: Anzio, Nettuno, Torre Astura On the edge of the marsh: Sermoneta, Sezze, Priverno Circe's Cape: S. Felice, Terracina Veroli Branching off Via Flaminia: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo, Leprignano (Capena)

Latium was enlarged in the 1920s with territories from the neighbouring regions: the map on the left shows the current borders of Latium; the map on the right has links to pages covering towns of historical Latium: in order to see them you must hover and click on the dots.