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Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
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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 March 2012.

To the visitors of my web site

Around Monte Cimino Caprarola - Gardens of Palazzo Farnese
(view of Vallerano - this page is also part of Giuseppe Vasi's Environs of Rome description)

Giardino di Sotto
Giardini di Sotto (Lower Gardens) and Palazzo Farnese

Guidebooks to Italy are not consistent in the way they name the complex built by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese at Caprarola. Italian guidebooks including that by Giusepe Vasi, stress the importance of the palace by referring to the complex as Palazzo Farnese; French guidebooks refer to it as Château Farnese whereas English ones call it Villa Farnese, thus giving more emphasis to the gardens behind the palace.
Cardinal Farnese and his guests could reach the gardens directly from the first floor of the palace where the main halls were located via a bridge, a solution which was adopted in other villas designed at a later period such as Palazzo Barberini and Giardino Colonna.

Grotto
Grotta dei Satiri at Giardini di Sotto

The villas of the ancient Romans had a facility where the host and his guests spent the hottest hours of the day, i.e. a grotto, a large artificial cave with a fountain which was often embellished with statues. In the XVIth century Ninfeo di Egeria was a widely known example of such an artificial cave.
Cardinal Farnese was a great admirer of the Classical World and he asked il Vignola, the architect who designed the palace, to build a grotto in the square gardens behind the building. Roughly cut faces of satyrs peering from the rocks of the grotto were part of the scherzi (tricks) of the garden. A very similar grotto was designed in the following century at Villa del Bel Respiro.

Giardini di Sopra
Giardini di Sopra (Upper Gardens)

The gardens of Palazzo Farnese were designed after those of Villa d'Este at Tivoli. In the latter they are in full view from the palace which is located at their top. At Caprarola instead Cardinal Farnese chose to hide the main section of the gardens inside a wood of chestnut trees, very similar to those which covered the environs of Caprarola. The cardinal's guests were expected to "discover" these gardens while walking in the wood.

Dolphin Cascade
Fontana della Catena (chain) dei Delfini

The surprise effect desired by Cardinal Farnese today is in part diminished by the 1950s replacement of chestnut trees with larches and by the opening of a wide path across them. The fountain on the steps leading to a small casino resembles Fontana degli Appennini at Villa Lante di Bagnaia which was designed by il Vignola a few years after the construction of Caprarola. Vignola designed other gardens for Cardinal Farnese at Orti Farnesiani in Rome.

Giardino delle Cariatidi
Giardino delle Cariatidi

This terrace is named after the caryatids which surround it; the reference to caryatids, pillars in the form of draped female figures supporting an entablature, is not correct. Giardino delle Erme would be a more appropriate name because herms, pillars with a carved head on top, were used by the ancient Greeks as boundary markers. The herms of Caprarola influenced the design of the private gardens of Villa Borghese in Rome.

Fontanelle
Fountains at the sides of Palazzina del Piacere

The murmur of water falling from a low height was highly praised by the ancient Greeks and Romans and was thought to have soothing effects on the mind. This belief influenced the design of the fountains at Caprarola as well as of those at Arab hospitals, such as Bimaristan Argoun at Aleppo.

Giardino di Sopra
Upper section of Giardino di Sopra and Palazzina del Piacere

The Upper Gardens and their small casino were completed by Giacomo Del Duca after the death of il Vignola. The name given to the small casino should not be meant as a reference to the pleasures of the flesh, but to those of the mind. Cardinal Farnese befriended with many poets and in particular with Annibal Caro who gave him advice on the myths and symbols depicted in the decoration of the palace and of the gardens.
Similar to Pope Pius IV at his casino in Rome Cardinal Farnese enjoyed spending his time with friends discussing poetry, art and theology.

Heraldic symbols
Heraldic symbols of the Farnese in the gardens: fleurs-de-lys and unicorns

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page (the itinerary ends at Caprarola):


Palazzo di Caprarola
Alla magnificenza del palazzo corrisponde l'amenitā di due giardini segreti, ai quali si passa per due ponti levatori; ed ancora la delizia di una villa con amenissimi viali, boschetti, e diversitā di fontane, di scale, e fiorire ornate di sculture capricciosissime; e con un casino di ricreazione posto fra' due giardini, si rende oltre modo riguardevole questa delizia, ora del mio Sovrano il Re delle due Sicilie. E perchč č ormai tempo, che io chieda congedo al gentilissimo mio Lettore, rimetto alla savia sua condotta di passare al convento de' frati Teresani, che sta a destra, per osservare la bell'architettura della chiesa fatta dal mentovato Vignola, ed ancora li due quadri ammirabili, uno di Guido Reni, e l'altro del Lanfranchi. E se poi passando da Viterbo vorrā portarsi a vedere la famosa villa Lanti, cognominata di Bagnara, ne riceverā sommo piacere: con che resto augurandoli ottima salute ed ogni felicitā.


Around Monte Cimino - other pages:
Ronciglione
Corchiano, Vignanello and Vallerano
Soriano al Cimino

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.

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