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TheVilla Farnese, also known asVilla Caprarola, is apentagonalmansion in the town ofCaprarola in theprovince of Viterbo, NorthernLazio, Italy, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-west ofRome, originally commissioned and owned by theHouse of Farnese. A property of theRepublic of Italy, Villa Farnese is run by thePolo Museale del Lazio. This villa is not to be confused with two similarly-named properties of the family, thePalazzo Farnese and theVilla Farnesina, both inRome.
The Villa Farnese is situated directly above the town of Caprarola and dominates its surroundings. It is a massiveRenaissance andMannerist construction, opening to theMonte Cimini, a range of densely woodedvolcanic hills. It is built on a five-sided plan in reddish goldstone;buttresses support the upper floors. As a centerpiece of the vast Farnese holdings, Caprarola was always an expression of Farnese power, rather than avilla in the more usual agricultural or pleasure senses.
In 1504, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the future PopePaul III, acquired the estate at Caprarola. He had designs made for a fortified castle orrocca by the architectsAntonio da Sangallo the Younger andBaldassare Peruzzi.[1] Surviving plan drawings by Peruzzi show a pentagonal arrangement with each face of the pentagon canted inwards towards its center, to permit raking fire upon a would-be scaling force, both from the center and from the projectingbastions that advance from each corner angle of the fortress. Peruzzi's plan also shows a central pentagonal courtyard and it is likely that the later development of the circular central court was also determined by the necessities of the pentagonal plan. The pentagonalfortress foundations, constructed probably between 1515 and 1530,[2] became the base upon which the present villa sits; so the overall form of the villa was predetermined by therocca foundations.
Subsequently,Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, a grandson ofPope Paul III, and a man who was known for promoting his family's interests, planned to turn this partly constructed fortified edifice into a villa or country house. In 1556, he commissionedGiacomo Barozzi da Vignola as his architect,[3] building work commenced in 1559 and Vignola continued to work on the villa at Caprarola until his death in 1573.[4] Farnese was a courteous man of letters; however, theFarnese family as a whole became unpopular with the following pope,Julius III, and, accordingly, Alessandro Farnese decided it would be politic to retire fromthe Vatican for a period. He therefore selected Caprarola on the family holding ofRonciglione, being both near and yet far enough from Rome as the ideal place to build a country house.
The villa is one of the finest examples ofRenaissance architecture. Ornament is used sparingly to achieve proportion and harmony. Thus while the villa dominates the surroundings, its severe design also complements the site. This particular style, known today asMannerism, was a reaction to the earlier High Renaissance designs of twenty years earlier.
Vignola, thearchitect chosen for this difficult and inhospitable site, had recently proved his mettle in designingVilla Giulia on the outskirts of Rome for the preceding pope,Julius III. Vignola in his youth had been heavily influenced byMichelangelo. For the villa at Caprarola, his plans as built were for a pentagon constructed around a circularcolonnadedcourtyard.[5] In the galleried court, pairedIonic columns flankniches containing busts of the RomanEmperors, above a rusticated arcade, a reworking ofBramante's scheme for the "House of Raphael", in theBorgorione, Rome. A further Bramantesque detail is the entablature that breaks forward over the columns, linking them above, while they stand on separate bases. The interior loggia formed by the arcade is frescoed with Raphaelesquegrotesques, in the manner of the VaticanLogge. Thegallery and upper floors were reached by fivespiralstaircases around the courtyard: the most important of these is theScala Regia ("Royal Stairs") rising through the principal floors.
The approach to the Villa Farnese is from the town's main street, which is centred on the villa, to apiazza from which stairs ascend to a series ofterraces beginning with the subterraneanbasement excavated from thetuff, surrounded by steep curving steps leading to the terrace above. This basement floor in the foundations, which functioned as a carriage entrance in inclement weather, features a massive central column with a series of buttresses and retaining walls; on the exterior, large heavily grilled doors in the rusticated walls appear to lead into the guardrooms of a fortress, while above them a curvedbalustraded externaldouble stairway leads to the terrace above. This in turn has a formal double staircase to the principal entrance on thePiano dei Prelati floor which is accessed from the broad terrace. Thisbastion-like floor, which appears in the elevation as a second ground floor, isrusticated, the main door a severearch flanked by three windows on each side. Thefacade at this level is terminated by massive solid corner projections.
Above this is the double-heightpiano nobile, where five huge arched windows incongruously dominate the facade over the front door; above this sit a further two floors for housing gentlefolk with servants above them, the numerous windows divided on the exterior by rusticated pilasters in dressed stone.
The villa's interiors are arranged over five floors, each floor designed for a different function. The main rooms are located on the first floor orpiano nobile, where a large central loggia (now glazed in) looks down over the town, its main street and the surrounding countryside. This hall is known as the Room ofHercules on account of its fresco decorations,[6] and was used as a summer dining hall. It has agrotto-like fountain withsculpture at one end. To either side of the loggia are two circular rooms: one is the chapel, the other accommodates the principal staircase orScala Regia, a graceful spiral of steps supported by pairs ofIonic columns rising up through three floors andfrescoed byAntonio Tempesta.
The two grand apartments at first floor level are symmetrically-matched in plan and complete the remaining enclosure of the courtyard. Each has a series of five rooms withstate rooms, which begin with the largest reception hall nearest the entrance and proceed, with increasing intimacy and decreased size, to a bedroom, wardrobe andstudiolo at the northern end; an ordered suite that would become standardized in the 17th century as theBaroque state apartment. The different orientations of these two apartments allows for a seasonal differentiation; the east, or summer apartment is associated with the active life, the west, or winter range with the contemplative life.[7] The scrupulous symmetrical balance of the two apartments is carried through by their matchingparterre gardens, each reached by a bridge across themoat and cut into the hillslope.
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The suites are famous for theirMannerist frescoes. Theiconographic program of frescoes expressing the glory of the Farnese was worked out by the humanists in Farnese's court, notably his secretary,Annibale Caro;[8] The fresco cycles portray the exploits ofAlexander the Great, and of course of the Farnese themselves: in theSala dei Fasti Farnesiani (the Room of Farnese Deeds), decorated by the brothersTaddeo andFederico Zuccari, the Farnese are depicted at all their most glorious moments, from floor to coffered ceiling.[9] Other artists employed in fresco decoration includeGiacomo Zanguidi (il Bertoia),Raffaellino da Reggio,Antonio Tempesta,Giacomo del Duca, andGiovanni De Vecchi. The Flemish paintersJoos van Winghe andBartholomaeus Spranger assisted il Bertoia with the decorations in the rooms he had been commissioned to finish.[10]
Among the frescoed subjects of the contemplative winter suite is the famous "Room of the World Map" orSala del Mappamondo, displaying the whole known world as it was in 1574 when the frescoes were completed.[11] Above, the frescoed vault depicts the celestial spheres and the constellations of thezodiac.
The gardens of the villa are as impressive as the building itself, a significant example of theItalian Renaissance garden period. The villa's fortress theme is carried through by a surroundingmoat and threedrawbridges. Two facades of the pentagonal arrangement face the two gardens cut into the hill; each garden is accessed across the moat by a drawbridge from the apartments on thepiano nobile and each is aparterre garden ofboxtopiary withfountains. Agrotto-liketheatre was once here. A walk through the chestnutwoods beyond, leads to thegiardino segreto, or secret garden, with its well-known casino.
TheCasino, a small habitablesummerhouse with twologgie foral fresco dining. It was built probably on designs byGiacomo del Duca, with later alterations were made to the area around the casino by the architectGirolamo Rainaldi.[12] The casino is approached by stairs contained between heavilyrusticated grotto walls, with a centralcatena d'acqua, acascaded rill or 'water-staircase', which the water flows down to a stone basin. At the top of the steps and set in an oval space are largestatues of two reclining river gods to either side of a large central vase fountain. Stairs built into the oval walls lead up to theparterred terrace in front of the south facade of the casino. This part of theterrace is lined by stoneherms with cypress trees. To the north of the casino is a private garden which steps up slightly and accommodates roses.
Alessandro Farnese died in 1589, bequeathing hisestates to his relatives, the FarneseDukes of Parma. His renowned art collection was eventually transferred toCharles III of Spain and brought toNaples. In the 19th century, the villa briefly served as the residence of the heir to the throne of the newlyunified Kingdom of Italy.
Elements of the villa's Renaissance gardens have influenced many estate gardens of the 19th and 20th century bylandscape designers, such asBeatrix Farrand,A.E. Hanson, andFlorence Yoch. 1920s gardens with acatena d'acqua include theHarold Lloyd Estate inBeverly Hills and 'Las Tejas' inMontecito, California, with the latter also having a casino in direct homage to the original at Villa Farnese.[13]
The villa Farnese in Caprarola provided the model for thePentagon inWashington D.C.[14]
Today the casino and its gardens are one of the homes of thePresident of the Italian Republic. The empty main villa, owned by the State, is open to the public. The numerous rooms, salons and halls with their marbles and frescoes, and the architecture of the great palazzo-like villa are still as impressive and daunting as they were first intended to be.
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The Villa was depicted both as the interior of Papal Palace in Vatican and as Castel Gandolfo in the original Netflix movieThe Two Popes.
Several major scenes of the 2013 filmRomeo and Juliet were filmed at the Casino of Villa Farnese—a summerhouse, separate from the main villa and surrounded by gardens. Notably, the loggia of the casino served as Juliet's balcony, where Romeo and Juliet exchanged their vows of love. For the filming, the otherwise empty loggia walls were adorned with artificial climbing roses attached to supports, which Romeo used to climb up.
The southern garden staircase of the casino, featuring a water cascade (catena d'acqua) and a fountain at its base, was used for the scene depicting Romeo and Juliet's separation at dawn following their first night together.[citation needed]
On Caprarola, see jestaz 1994, pp. 35-48. Caprarola provided the model for the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
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