Caprarola and the Farnese Trail

by Bryn Jenkins (columnist) | Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

Connections and continuity provide a constant theme for many studies of people and places of Rome through the ages. The Farnese family and their architectural and cultural legacy are a fitting example. The roots of the Farnese were in Lombardy but it was Rannuccio, a leading general in the Papal military forces, who first established the Farnese connection with the Tuscia region between the lakes Bolsena and Vico in the 15th century. Traditionally loyal to the Papacy, the family tree was abruptly halted with the death of Elisabetta Farnese in 1766, bringing two centuries of Farnese influence – not only in Rome and Lazio but throughout Europe – to an end. The Farnese architectural legacy in Rome and northern Lazio continues to be very much admired today.

The Farnese ascent
Alessandro Farnese Senior was the catalyst of the family’s power and influence. He was born in 1468 in the village of Canino as the son of Pierluigi Senior. Connections, both legitimate and otherwise, involved marriage alliances within the Italian aristocracy and with the royal courts of Europe. Alessandro’s sister Giulia, known as “Bella Giulia” married Orsino Orsini at the age of fifteen and she later became mistress to Borgia Pope Alexander VI. One of the benefits of this relationship was her brother’s appointment as Cardinal, - mockingly described as “the Petticoat Cardinal”. Nevertheless, he became a powerful force in the Vatican and was appointed Treasurer, acquiring sufficient wealth to begin the construction of Palazzo Farnese in Rome in 1514, commissioning the architect Antonio Sangallo. By 1509 he had decided to establish Caprarola as the centre of Farnese domination in Tuscia.

From petticoat to tiara
In 1534 at the time of his election as Pope Paul III, the Vatican and the Eternal City were still recovering from the Sack of Rome devastation which lasted from May 1524 until February 1528. As the newly elected Pope, he did much to restore the morale of the local population and the structural recovery of the city. At his coronation in 1534 there were celebrations with tournaments and pageants and a revival of the Roman Carnival. The State visit by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V provided the opportunity for the Farnese Pope to commission Michelangelo with the restoration of the Capitoline Hill, and it has since remained relatively unchanged. At this time Michelangelo was also appointed Chief Architect of the Vatican and he began work on the Last Judgment in 1535, when memories of the Sack of Rome were far from forgotten.

Reformist and… excommunicator
During his fifteen years at the Vatican, religious disputes and international politics were closely entwined and Pope Paul III showed considerable concern for Church reform. He boldly faced the challenge of Lutheranism and the Reformation and he accepted the establishment of the Society of Jesus by Ignatius Loyola. In 1545 he summoned the Council of Trent. The excommunication of the English King Henry VIII was his decision, perhaps influenced by Charles V, the uncle of Catherine of Aragon. 
Another connection with Tudor England can be found in the Roman Forum sacristy of the church of S. Francesca Romana, open on Saturday and Sunday (the entrance near the Colosseum) where there is a painting attributed to Perin del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorti) portraying Pope Paul III in conversation with Reginald Pole (1500-1558) a severe critic of the divorce of Henry VIII (later appointed Archbishop of Canterbury during the brief reign of Catholic Mary Tudor). His other ‘career’ appointments included posts as Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Cardinal Legate at the Council of Trent and Warden of the English Hospice in Rome.

Palatial prominence
Pope Paul III was described by Kenneth Clark, the art historian, as “the last of the humanist Popes” and no other member of the Farnese family was to achieve such influence and prestige. He was the subject of three Titian portraits and the family network of marriages extended to French, Spanish and Hapsburg courts.
Palazzo Farnese in Rome was originally built for Alessandro Farnese Senior while he was Cardinal and the Vatican Treasurer. It continues to be admired as one of the finest Renaissance palaces in Rome but, in the early 16th century.It’s architect until 1546 was Antonio Sangallo, replaced upon death by Michelangelo and Giacomo della Porta. The original Palazzo Farnese has been the residence of the French Embassy since the unification of Italy in 1871 with the reciprocal agreement of Hotel Galifetti in Paris becoming the Italian Embassy for a rent of 1 lira.
The Villa Farnesina in Trastevere was not originally linked with the Farnese family as it had been commissioned in 1508 by the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi. It was bought by Alessandro Farnese the Younger, hence the name Farnesina. Both Villa Madama, on Monte Mario and Palazzo Madama, now the Italian Senate, acquired Farnese connections through Ottavio Farnese’s marriage to Margaret of Austria, illegitimate daughter of the Emperor Charles V.
The link between the Farnese Gardens and the family is a direct one, with Cardinal Alessandro the Younger having bought the ruins of the Palace of Tiberius on the Palatine. The gardens, designed by Vignola were among the earliest botanical gardens in Europe. He was also commissioned to design part of the Chiesa del Gesu displaying the Farnese Cardinal’s name on the façade.

A trip to Caprarola
A suitable climax for the Farnese trail is the visit to Caprarola when in 1509, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese the Elder commissioned the family architect, Antonio Sangallo, with the design of pentagonal fortress located between the Via Cassia and the Via Flaminia. From Rome, the approach road from the Via Cassia began at Monterosi, 25 kilometers away and the view from the ‘fortress palace’ gave ample warning of any possible attack. The most prominent landmark to the south was Monte Soracte. By the time of his election as Pope Paul III (1534-1549) the Caprarola connection had become less of a priority and it was his grandson Cardinal Alessandro Farnese the Younger who later revived the interest with the emphasis on a residential palace and gardens. Farnese owned until the 18th century, the Palace is now state property.
The family was loyal to their architects and it was Jacopo Vignola who was responsible for the final design. One feature was that in the rooms of the palace there was a distinction between state and family and between summer and winter rooms. The Zuccari brothers, Taddeo and Federico were frescoed swathes of the family history, particularly in the Hall of the Farnese Glories ( Fasti Farnesini). The expression ‘cult of personality’ was not a Renaissance one, but the achievements of Pope Paul during the Counter Reformation, take pride of preference.

A map of dominions… 
In the Guards Hall entrance there is a collection of frescoes including the territorial landscape belonging to the Farnese family, together with the crest of the azure lilies. In the terracotta courtyard linking the points of the pentagon there are forty coats of arms of Italian or foreign aristocracy, including the Colonna, Orsini, Medici, Hapsburg and Bourbon. 
The first room on the piano nobile is dedicated to the classical theme of Hercules together with frescoes of the extensive property of the Farnese. The absence of furniture reduces the impact of some of the rooms but the Hall, with the Map of the World, particularly attracts the attention of most visitors. It was mainly the work of Antonio da Varese who mapped the world as it was known in the latter decades of the 16th century, with feature portraits of explorers such as Marco Polo, Amerigo Vespucci, Magellan, Columbus and Cortes. A further connection with the Vatican is Vignola’s spiral staircase design, reminiscent of Bramante’s.

… and of seasons
The Rooms of the Seasons are suitably decorated in keeping with the conditions of the year and the Keep Room has a wooden ceiling made of Lebanese cedar featuring the Farnese coat of arms. The Judgment Room is dedicated to King Solomon and his involvement in the dispute between two mothers over a newborn baby. The Archangel Michael room offers a connection with medieval Rome, depicting Castel Sant’Angelo at the time of the Plague in 590. 
The gardens complete the classic example of the 16th century villa, combining the relationship between nature and architectural designs. A stroll through the park leads to the water chains, the River Fountains and, finally the Little Pleasure Palace or Palazzo del Piacere, designed in the 1580s.

Historical and transport connections
Since coming under state control the palazzino has become available as a summer retreat for the President of Italy, but only President Einaudi has taken advantage of the offer. One connection with the royal house of Windsor is that Prince Charles has stayed there during his architectural courses at Villa Lante, near Viterbo.
Palazzo/Villa Farnese at Caprarola is certainly well worth a visit, either by COTRAL bus via Ronciglione or by car, turning off the Cassia at Monterosi and then following Ronciglione, and the Caprarola sign to the right.

Some reference books:
Northern Lazio-an unknown Italy, Wayland Kennet, Elisabeth Young
The Palazzo Farnese at Capraro, Graziella Frezza, Fausto Benedetti

* Author note: Bryn Jenkins, formerly a History teacher at St. George’s, Marymount and The New School, is now an Independent College Counsellor and Tour Guide.