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THE COUNTRY OF FARNESE FAMILY

• The “Palazzo Farnese” at Caprarola
The “Palazzo Farnese” deserves a special place among the great works of art of the late Renaissance. It is the wonderful achievement of a brilliant architect who did his best to pay homage to his rich patron’s liberality. “The Palazzo” had already been started on a pentagonal plan by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, an expert military engineer. Work on it was interrupted around the mid-16th century; however, the walls of the fortress had already been erected at that time. After Sangallo’s death, Vignola began to work at Caprarola around the mid sixteenth century. He decided to keep the pentagonal shape intact, and designed an elegant palazzo with hundreds of rooms and a beautiful Italian garden. The “Palazzo Farnese” is a five-storey building with a rock-cut cellar and several kitchens. It houses the “Stanze dei Prelati” with splendid frescoes, the “Piani dei Cavalieri e degli Staffieri” and the “Piano Nobile” with the cardinal’s private apartments and some gorgeous public rooms. In the 16th century the Farnese family were at the top of their power, and the rich cardinal engaged some famous artists to decorate his villa. Among them were Taddeo and Federico Zuccari, two clever artists whose pictorial style recalls some excellent early Renaissance painters such as Michelangelo, Raphael and Giorgio Vasari. The frescoes of the “Piano Nobile” show historical episodes, legends and events taken from the Holy Scriptures. When Vignola died in 1573, work on villa was still under way. The project was carried out by some clever architects. The most famous one is Jacopo del Duca, who completed the Palazzo and designed the “Palazzina del Piacere”, a small lodge in a big park near the Palazzo. It was used as a summer residence by Alessandro Farnese and his successors, the lodge has a geometric garden with some fine fountains and peperino statues.

• Lake of Vico
Lake of Vico (the ancient Lacus Ciminus) is a small lake of volcanic origin on the “Cimini” Mountains, one of the most charming areas in the province of “Viterbo”. Covered with chestnuts, oaks and beech, the hills of the Cimini Mountains are a good place for a relaxing holiday. In any case, wonderful nature and good food are just two of the ingredients which make this area a lovely place to stay. Just a few miles from the lake you can find some hidden jewels, such as the “Palazzo Farnese” at Caprarola and the Roman amphitheatre at Sutri; or typical medieval towns, such as Ronciglione and Soriano nel Cimino.

TUSCIA LANDSCAPES

• Bagnoreggio “the dying town”
“Civita di Bagnoregio” is also known as the “dying town”. Perched on a tuffaceous hill in the middle of a landslide-prone valley, this nice little town is slowly succumbing to the ravages of time. Today, the visitor’s footsteps ring out in the small streets, alleys and little piazzas of a town, and its nice nooks and crannies are bathed in an almost religious silence. From “Civita”, you can take a wonderful view over the lunar landscape created by the “Calanchi” (big clay formations rising all around “Civita”).

• Ferento amphitheatre
In ancient times, “Ferento” was known as ‘ the splendid town’. Situated near the Tiber valley, this small Roman municipium flourished in the early Roman period. Yet, a few centuries earlier the Etruscans had already occupied the area of “Ferento”. They built a small town at “Acquarossa”(7th-6th century BC), not far from the place where “Ferento” was built some centuries later. Perhaps, the Etruscans of Orvieto (Velzna) destroyed it after a war. After the destruction of “Acquarossa”, the Romans rebuilt the new town of “Ferento” on the hill of “Pianicara”. Among the most interesting things to be seen at “Ferento” are a Roman theatre, the Roman baths and the remains of the old Ferentiense road. In the Middle Ages “Ferento” was a flourishing town; in 1172 it was razed to the ground after a war against “Viterbo”, and the place was definitely abandoned.

IN SEARCH OF ETRUSCAN’S TRACES

• Tarquinia

Necropolis
If you want to find out more about the mysterious Etruscan world, then “Tarquinia” is the ideal place for you. Situated some miles from the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the ancient town lay on a wide plateau surrounded by a wonderful landscape. Anyway, “Tarquinia” was the oldest Etruscan town as well as one of the largest centres in southern Etruria. The necropolis of Monterozzi is Tarquinia’s main tourist attraction. “Monterozzi” is the most important burial-ground with some 150 painted tombs. Among the most remarkable tombs are the Hunting and Fishing Tomb, the Tomb of the Leopards, the Tomb of the Lotus Flower, the Tomb of the Lionesses, the Tomb of the Maiden (Pulcella), the Fustigation Tomb and the Tomb of the Caronti (winged genies).

Etruscan National Museum.
The museum is housed inside the Vitelleschi palace, a 15th century building where Gothic and neo-classical elements combine to form a very fine structure. The local museum contains a rich collection of findings dating from the Iron Age (9th cent. BC) to the Roman period.
The most remarkable works of art are the famous terracotta winged hoses (4th-3rd cent. BC), the Bocchoris vase (about 700 BC), some funerary urns of the Villanovan age, golden jewels, coins and a remarkable collection of sarcophagi dated from between the 4th and the 3rd centuries BC. The Sarcophagus of the Magistrate (Laris Pulena), with a long inscription in the Etruscan language, and the Parthunu family’s sarcophagi, are well worth a mention here.

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