Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, near Viterbo

Today we did a big road trip to the Viterbo area in Lazio, nearer to Rome than Panicale. The sole purpose was to see two spectacular gardens that are rated amongst Italy's  best. The first was Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola and the second was Villa Lante in Bagnaia.

To do justice to these two historic gardens I will post individual posts, starting with Palazzo Farnese and its gardens today.

Palazzo Farnese is one of the best examples of Mannerism era dwellings (late Renaissance, mid 1550s) and was built for the Farnese family,  Cardinal Allesandro Farnese being the first of several generations to contribute to the palazzo and gardens. Aesthetic pleasure was of particular importance. 

The palazzo is very unusual in that it is pentagonal in shape with a circular courtyard, being built upon fortress foundations. There is a winter apartment and a summer apartment, both making the most of the climatic conditions of the season.

The interior decoration of the 1560s was for the Glorification of the Dynasty and shows the many successes of the Farnese family. It is very 'Look at me and my success!'

The palazzo is now situated right in the middle of a very large town.

The circular walkway in the courtyard

An example of the ceiling decoration, more plant and animal designs to acknowledge the country residence (There is a Villa Farnese in Rome)

The grand circular staircase

In the summer apartment, an internal grotto to give a cooling effect.

This room has a wall of glass to allow the sun to shine in, very unusual for its time.

Cardinal Farnese portrayed above the fire place.

The map room was fascinating. The maps are painted in great detail onto all the walls of the room and show the various known areas such as the Holy Land and Turkey. The map above is the known world at that time.This huge map is on the narrow end of the room.

The ceiling is a map of the heavens with constellations.

There are two secret garden areas which can be seen from the guest rooms and can be accessed across bridges over the moat. The centrepiece of this garden is the grotto.

From the secret gardens the guests were encouraged to wander upwards through the woods where they would come upon a surprise.  This is the most spectacular  part of the garden but very sadly for us the plumber was working and the fountains were not! Gardens of this era did not have flowers or shrubs, but a profusion of statues, columns, fountains and water features.

"Hmmm, how can I make my garden even more flamboyant than my neighbours?"

As you come out of the woods you are presented with this incredible arrangement, which would be even more spectacular when water was flowing down the centre stairs from the upper bowl to the lower one. At the top is the summer house, the sole purpose being for entertainment.

The fountain at the top retained its water and fish but no showers or rivulets today. Looking back down the cascade you can see the decoration, fish intertwined.

The summer house hardly caught our attention as we were drawn around the sides by the statuary and the many bowls and faces showing us where water had once gushed. The statues seemed to portray abundance wherever we looked.

Close up views of the bannisters going up to the summer house.

Once behind the summer house the courtyard opened out to a partere type garden of fountains. It must have been stunning in the 1500s when it was created.

This is the Farnese coat of arms 

Going back down the gardens on the opposite side you could appreciate the design, the harmony and the pure delight of this old garden.

Oh, yes! The summer house,  but look at this beautiful old fountain.