Caprarola and the extraordinary Renaissance Palazzo Farnese

The picturesque ancient borgo of Caprarola looks immersed in one of the most extraordinary natural wonders of Lazio region. It stands on a hilly area at the foot of the Cimini mountains just over 500 meters above sea level surrounded by lush forests and close to Lake Vico, a very suggestive lake formed inside an ancient volcano collapsed on itself. Caprarola is dominated by the monumental Palazzo Farnese, one of the best examples of a Renaissance residence, built for the Roman Farnese family in Caprarola. In 1530 Alessandro Farnese, who later became Pope Paul III, asked Antonio Sangallo the Younger to build a fortress in Caprarola. The building comprises 5 floors, including the basement, dozens of frescoed rooms and is surrounded by a large ditch and beautiful gardens. It has a pentagonal shape and an internal circular courtyard. Caprarola also saves the Church of St. Teresa, a masterpiece by Girolamo Rainaldi, commissioned by the Farnese family.