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

To the Italian visitors of my web site

In and About Viterbo Bagnaia

Bagnaia is a small town on the slopes of Monte Cimino a few miles from Viterbo, known only for its thermal water (Bagno means bath), until it was chosen in the XVth century as summer residence of the bishops of Viterbo. Cardinal Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84), felt the palace inside the walls to be a too modest residence and decided to expand Bagnaia by building a villa in the mountain above the town. Thus Bagnaia is made of two distinct parts: the old one (cittą di dentro inside) with a very medieval aspect inside the walls and the new one (cittą di fuori outside) with three streets departing from the same point and reaching the villa.

Main gate of Bagnaia and door of the Palace
Main gate of Bagnaia and door of the palace

The casino was redesigned in 1578 by Cardinal de' Gambara, who had in mind the Orti Farnesiani sul Palatino. A section of the wood of the old villa was turned into an Italian garden, which was divided by a series of fountains originating from a single source. The design by il Vignola provided for two exactly identical casinos facing each other and adding to the symmetry of the gardens and of the fountains.

Villa Lante general view
Villa Lante

In 1580 when only one of the casinos was completed Cardinal de' Gambara, maybe advised by Cardinal Borromeo, thought that the new villa could lead to criticism of his lifestyle and he stopped its completion. Gambero in Italian means shrimp and the coat of arms of Cardinal de' Gambara was a shrimp. The buildings and the fountains erected by him are all marked by shrimps (see in the image here below the shrimps on the little loggia at the top of the garden).

Fountain at the top of the hill and little casino
Fountain at the top of the hill and little casino

The fountains have an extremely high number of small waterfalls, resulting in a very pleasant sound, a sort of background music for the various pastimes of the host and his guests.

Fountains of the Appennines and of the Giants
Fountains of the Appennines and of the Giants

In the 1620's Cardinal Montalto, a relative of Pope Sixtus V (1585-90) completed the villa by adding the second casino, which shows his heraldic symbols (a lion holding some pears and three mountains topped by a star). He also modified the sculpture at the center of the main fountain, by adding to the already existing four moors his heraldic symbol. The villa is now known as Villa Lante as it was acquired at a later stage by the Lante della Rovere family.

Main fountain
Main fountain with the heraldic symbol of Cardinal Montalto

The large park behind the villa is now a public garden: it has has some interesting fountains, although they are not part of an overall design.

Fountains in the park
Fountains in the Park


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.