I was watching a movie a while back on Netflix - Romeo and Juliet directed by Carlo Carlei - not my favorite if I have to be honest with you, but what caught my attention were the places in Italy where it was filmed, among them Tarquinia, Villa Farnese, and Caprarola. Places where I hadn’t been yet but that certainly sparked my curiosity. From that moment on I began researching the area but after a while my interest weakened. As a matter of fact I kind of forgot about it until I started to teach about the Francigena Way that happens to go through the same area. That was it! It was time to give some serious thoughts about visiting the province of Viterbo.
While I was researching, I also discovered that the area is called Tuscia; this is not a modern geographic connotation, but instead an ancient one referring to an area that used to comprise Tuscany, northern Lazio, and western Umbria. Today Tuscia is the area of the province of Viterbo. I realized that Viterbo and its surrounding territory have a lot to offer to visitors. It would take me a very lengthy article to try to describe it all to you, so I will focus just on one characteristic of the area: its Renaissance Gardens. There will be other posts about Tuscia, in particular Viterbo, its borghi, and local traditions.
As I was saying I would like to talk about the gardens, in particular three of them. Viterbo being not too far from Rome, the wealthy and powerful of the past chose the area to build their villas and gardens to impress their important visitors and guests, but also to intimidate their foes. Villas with their gardens were a way to show how invincible they were. The Farnese, Gambara, and Orsini families must have done a good job in hiring the best architects and landscape designers of the time because these gardens still impress today.
Let's take a look at two Late Renaissance gardens and a third one more unconventional for the era!
Villa Farnese and its gardens
Approaching the town of Caprarola, south of Viterbo is a pleasant drive by Vico Lake; at a certain point you will notice a huge building that from the top of the hill dominates the small town and surrounding landscape. From your perspective it is hard to see that the shape of the building is a pentagon, visible only from above. That building is the Farnese Villa, Villa Farnese.
Caprarola is a darling town, so make sure to spend some time walking through its narrow streets after you visit the Farnese Estate.
As I mentioned earlier, the reason why we went to Caprarola in the first place was to visit Villa Farnese and its gardens; a Mannerist villa built between 1556 and 1575 by the Farnese Family. Once you enter the front door of the villa, adjacent to the atrium is the ticket office where you can purchase your 5 Euro ticket; the magnificent circular staircase, the collonaded courtyard, and the frescoed rooms will take your breath away. Take your time to tour the extravagant villa first, and then head to the gardens.
Vignola designed the gardens creating a balance between nature and the majestic architecture of the buildings; he used natural springs in the hills to feed the multiple fountains of the gardens, and grottoes. The landscape architect created the lower or secret gardens by excavating the hillside and arranged them in square shapes. The area behind the pentagon building was leveled so that the cardinal and his guests could enjoy the surrounding woods, non-native plants, and domesticated animals - today you are following a wide trail through the woods where the exotic plants and animals are long gone. It doesn’t matter. Keep walking through the woods until the trees thin out and you reach the Lily Fountain, Fontana del Giglio in the lower gardens.
Behind it an orchestrated play of water rises up the hill to reach the Cup Fountain at the top, Fontana del Bicchiere. In 1584 the large Upper Gardens were added, with the Casina del Piacere - Lodge of Pleasure - and a series of smaller fountains. The Upper Gardens were further modified around 1620. No matter where you stand the symmetry of the design of the gardens will remind you that nothing was neglected, but instead every detail was taken into consideration to create the perfect outdoor retreat. Everything was done with a purpose: the goal was to make an impression on the Cardinal’s guests. The gardens certainly impressed me!
Villa Farnese can be visited Tuesday-Saturday from 8:30 to one hour before sunset.
Villa Lante
Villa Lante awaited us in the small town of Bagnaia, just east of Viterbo. Once in Bagnaia we were trying to figure out where the villa was; it blends in with the town so well that you have to look for signs to reach it. Villa Lante is well known for its Italian style Renaissance gardens and in 2011 was awarded the prize for best Italian park of the year - I Parchi più Belli d'Italia publishes a list of the winners at ilparcopiubello.it. The villa is situated on the lower slope of the Cimini Mountains, a strategic position that allowed the architect to use the natural characteristics of the area to build the formal gardens and adjacent park.
It started out as a hunting and summer retreat in 1498, but it is in 1568 that Gambara hires the renowned landscape architect Vignola to design the gardens, transforming the estate into a villa. In those years Villa Farnese in Caprarola and Villa d’Este in Tivoli were being built as well. The gardens as you see them today are very similar to the Vignola’s design. In the past the property used to be much bigger; nowadays the beautiful groomed park outside the villa’s gates is open to the public for free. The 5 Euro ticket allows you to visit the gardens inside the walls and one of the two buildings. The two buildings alternate their opening time so when one is open the other one is closed. There are tours that will take you inside one of the buildings to visit its six rooms; you need to make a reservation when you purchase your ticket. I noticed that staff does not let you know about it; in fact, they do not advertise it. If you want to see the villa again you have to mention it when you purchase your ticket.
What struck me about the villa and its gardens is the equilibrium between the two. I am saying villa but in reality it is a villa split in two identical smaller buildings or palazzine. While Villa Farnese was and still is a majestic and imposing presence over the landscape, Villa Lante blends in with the gardens. There is an equal relationship, a harmony between the architecture and the landscape here. And again symmetry dominates the design; enjoy the geometric boxwood hedges, the multiple fountains, and the well planned waterfalls. What I really liked about it is that the garden is as equally important as the villa and the visitor feels part of it. I also admired the water features, their ingenious choreography, and water flow.
You can visit Villa Lante Tuesday to Sunday starting at 8:30 am to sunset; double check the schedule before you go.
Sacred Grove
The last Renaissance garden we visited in Tuscia was 20 km east of Viterbo, near the town of Bomarzo. I am referring to Sacro Bosco or Sacred Grove, also known as Giardino dei Mostri or Park of the Monsters.
Coming from perfectly designed, symmetric gardens, Sacro Bosco is something else: it is not a typical Italian Renaissance garden as you would expect it to be. In 1552 Prince Pier Francesco Orsini commissioned it to the architect Pirro Ligorio. Why it was designed and conceived this way it is still a mystery today. There are multiple theories and conjectures about the real reason, but all unfounded.
The elements of surprise, surrealism, and magic are present in the park. The boulders of peperino (local stone) originally found in the area where sculpted on the spot giving birth to terrible and fascinating creatures. While you are walking through the woods you are in for an adventure and there is no turning back. As you proceed, you are presented with scary and fantastic sculptures, which take turns in showing themselves, but you don’t know where the next one is going to be or when it is going to show up. Here and there are still visible enigmatic messages on some of the sculptures, left to instigate and puzzle the visitor's mind.
It seems to me that Sacro Bosco is definitely a family destination, and I can see why. It is also a favorite trip for Roman families who cannot wait to escape the city for a day. It is priceless to see kids running around trying to figure out who or what the sculptures represent. Go take a look! The park is open every day from 8:30 to sunset.
And with Sacro Bosco I conclude this post on Renaissance gardens in the province of Viterbo. I found them all three fascinating, but my favorite is probably Sacro Bosco because of the mystery that surrounds it. Which one of the three gardens sparked your interest the most?
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