Special Women of Castello Ruspoli

 

    Yesterday  I was honored to be among the music loving guests gathered at Castello Ruspoli in Vignanello for  luncheon and concert of the 9^th international  prize for Baroque singing  and musical studies. 
I have often written about this  castle,  one of central Italy’s  most  significant historical properties, that has been in the same family since 1531.

Donna Giada and  Manola at castle entance

brick floors  spina di pesce16th century

  

   

imposing facade of Castello Ruspoli, Vignanello 

It was the first visit  since my  discovery in a local church of the only portrait of  an infamous ancestor of the Marescotti-Ruspoli family, Ortensia Farnese. The story of Ortensia’s  nefarious deeds   is narrated in my recently published  “The Painted Palazzo/Il Palazzo Dipinto” , the 7th publication dedicated to the  Tuscia/Etruria  area here in central Italy.  

Ortensia, Madonna del Riscatto, Vetralla

Ortensia Farnese  fresco discovered in Vetralla

The contest for Baroque singers and musicians is named for  Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli  (1672-1731) a patron of Handel . It  is a unique experience for scholars  and performers offering  a monetary award and solo concerts at the castle and later in Copenhagen and Havana. Singers and instrumentalists specialized  in Baroque music compete in alternate years .

Guests for the luncheon and concert were greeted in  the castle entrance hall by Donna Giada Ruspoli and shown into a cozy room where  aperitivi were served . 

the gardens created by Ottavia Orsini 

Other  guests  took a stroll in the magnificent  gardens designed in 1610 by Ottavia Orsini Marescotti, daughter of the creator of  Bomarzo’s  Sacro Bosco. The gardens  retain  the original   design and parterres which are lovingly  maintained by the castle’s  gardener, Santino.

Gardener Santino greets  Prince Stash    and Tan 

As well as  great patrons of the arts and benefactors,  the historical Marescotti-Ruspoli family also  included  saints  and sinners. 
In  the family chapel on the ground floor  mementos of the family saint, St. Giacinta, are kept. 

in the chapel 

dress of Saint Giacinta Marescotti 

papal shoes and robes 

 Upstairs in the many rooms of the piano nobile, numerous family portraits  line the walls and vintage photos show other  Marescotti –Ruspoli ancestors.  A memento  of Ortensia, and her  three  unlucky husbands, can be seen on the fireplace mantle – a half erased coat of arms.

fireplace with  coat of arms

    

buffet  in front of the fireplace 

castle rooms 

still life  

setting up for the luncheon 

Luncheon was  held in several salons  of the piano nobile, next to the main hall  where the concert  was held . 

program of the  concert 

The  audience of music  connoisseurs  was enthralled by the voice  of this year’s  winner of the Ruspoli prize,   Hungarian contralto Dalma Krajnyak, accompanied   by Luigi Trivisano at the clavicembalo.  

named after his ancestor, Francesco Maria Ruspoli 

Surely Handel and his Ruspoli benefactor, Prince Francesco Maria, were  smiling  down on the castle yesterday as history repeated itself with beautiful music, good company and interesting encounters .

Art and Artisans in Viterbo and Vignanello

Photo by F. Pignatale 

This weekend   everyone in the province of Viterbo  is celebrating  the  entrance of the Macchina di Santa Rosa   in to the   UNESCO heritage   list, which I wrote about  last week. 

 It is  a sunny weekend with   the olive harvest finished and people are looking ahead to the holidays: thus  there are Christmas fairs and  fairs celebrating  the local olive oil in just about  every town. 

This morning  we drove over  to Vignanello  to check out the  art and artisans fair being hosted by Donna Giada Ruspoli in the family castle.  

 I have a video clip of our visit,  you can see it on youtube   Ruspoli Castle, Vignanello.  Also  on Facebook...but for some unknown reason, today  it won't load  on  the blog page. 

Mary Jane Cryan

about an hour ago via YouTube

• A visit to Ruspoli Castle to see the hidden corners, the pre-Christmas fair

  

  Ruspoli castle Vignanello

  Caricato da Mary Jane

  Christmas fair Dec.7 & 8

Like ·  · Iscriviti su Youtube · Share 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XhjxDsyrk http://youtu.be/Y-XhjxDsyrk

  
Also  happening in Viterbo during this weekend:  the Chamber of Commerce  fair  in  the historic center .  

Ten Top Gardens of Central Italy

        

         

Garden in a vase, Hesperides Garden, Viterbo area 

Spring  has finally arrived here in central  Italy and it is time to tour some of  the delightful gardens that  can be found in  Lazio and  Tuscany.

 Here is my personal selection  plus  links to  more information and previous blog posts about  some of those  in the area around Viterbo.

Quirinale Palace, Rome

The magnificent  gardens of the Quirinale Palace in the heart of ancient Rome are part of  the Italian president’s  residence.   I wonder  if  President Giorgio Napolitano ( at  87 years of age, he was  elected  for a   second  seven-year term  yesterday !) ever gets a chance to enjoy a walk  here.  www.quirinale.it

Christina's tulips, see  more on her blog" My Hesperides Garden"

Villa d’Este, Tivoli

Villa d’Este, built by Cardinal Ippolito Este, has  hundreds of fountains and shady avenues. A perfect day trip from Rome when combined with a visit to nearby Hadrian’s Villa,  the archetype of luxury residential architecture. The ruins of the  Hadrian’s Villa have inspired Palladio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Borromini, Piranesi and Canova.    www.villadestetivoli.info     

lavender  explodes in all its perfumed glory in late June and July 

  

Castel Giuliano, Bracciano

 Located on the slope of the Tolfa mountains, the  grounds of Castel Giuliano show  Marchesa Patrizi’s passion  for roses with hundreds of ancient species surrounding Etruscan tombs.  www.castel-giuliano.it

San Liberato Gardens, Bracciano Lake

 Bracciano is set among the Sabatini and Tolfa hills and known for the  imposing  Orsini Odescalchi Castle, built by Napoleone Orsini in 1470. The  Sanminiatelli  family’s castle is surrounded by magnificent  Botanical gardens  of San Liberato, a popular  venue for weddings.   Nearby is  the tiny Lake of Martignano  surrounded by cypress and poplars .  www.sanliberato.it   

Sacro Bosco, Bomarzo

Inscriptions highlighted in red  expressing  Vicino Orsini’s  philosophy  are engraved  on the tufa stone figures, moss covered benches, plaques and architectural follies of the park. www.parcodeimostri.com

Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

This  magnificent pentagonal palace can be considered the height of nepotism, for it was built for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III Farnese. The upper gardens have delightful avenues, giant stone sculptures and a pleasure house.  

Villa Lante, Bagnaia

A great parterre with intricate boxwood embroidery frames the 4-part pool surrounded by balustrades decorated with Cardinal Gambara's crayfish symbol. Moss covered stairs lead to the top of the garden with views over bubbling fountains.  Nearby  is the  Cardinal’s "icebox", Conserva della Neve, where  snow was stored for making sorbets.

Peony Gardens, Vitorchiano

April and May  are the flowering months for the thousands of peony plants of Centro Botanico Moutan . www.centrobotanicomoutan.it

Castello Ruspoli, Vignanello

Beyond the moat of  Castello Ruspoli are  the  raised gardens laid out by Ottavia Orsini, daughter of the creator of Bomarzo’s Sacro Bosco.  The box hedges have intricate designs which  include  the initials of family members. The prince’s secret garden is hidden in a sunken area.  www.castelloruspoli.com  

La Foce, Tuscany

 Iris Origo commissioned  garden  architect Cecil Pinsent,  to create the gardens of La Foce  between 1925 and 1939.  The garden  has geometrical  “rooms” made from box hedges and potted lemon trees, enhanced with wisteria pergolas and lavender hedges.  Part of the large estate, the garden also has a family cemetery.    

For  more information  on  historic and modern gardens,  nature reserves, castles to visit, unusual museums and other treasures  see my website  and order one of the many  books  published  in English (and soon in Italian) about central Italy.

Lunch at Ruspoli Castle

Ruspoli Castle seen from the gardens

still life  at the castle kitchen 

corridor to the castle chapel 

   

The town of Vignanello  was in full festival mode  this week for the beginning of  Carnival coincided  with  the feast days of two local saints, Santa Giacinta Marescotti and San Biagio.

the Duomo of Vignanello faces the Castello 

Giada holds her copy of my
latest book  

plan of the castle's  Renaissance gardens 

warming up by the fireplace

Family coat of arms and portraits  in main salone

Ruspoli ancestors tower over Fulvio 

 We were guests of Donna Giada Ruspoli for lunch at her family  Castello, which dominates the town of Vignanello, sharing the main piazza  with the Duomo.

with Donna Giada Ruspoli 

 Arriving to the piazza the noise level increased as we struggled against  the icy winds that channeled down the narrow main street: besides the celebratory fireworks that reverberated off the  Duomo and castle walls the  town  band was  playing and the traffic  in the tiny piazza worked itself into gridlock.

family portraits  and candles 

crossing the moat 

One must cross the moat to enter the castle’s  massive entrance  doors and once inside  the  guests  enjoyed bruschette and aperitivi in the warm glow of portable heaters. 

Elisa and Claudio Fochetti, Fulvio and Elizabeth 

Elizabeth  with Santino, the castle's gardener extrordinaire 

Some hardy guests   braved the cold to cross a further  moat  which connects the castle with its famous  Renaissance gardens.  

the Renaissance gardens 

three young guests in the castle 's main salone 

Many of those invited  were specialists in antique music  who had come  up from Rome for the day. Others hailed from places further away: Portugal, Oxford and  Brazil.

guests enjoyed lunch and desserts...

...around the tables and  the fireplace

Lunch was served in two living rooms on the piano nobile  and guests served themselves at a buffet table  in the main  room decorated with  family portraits and with the best views over the garden.   

Donna Giada and Signor Fochetti

Chiara Pelliccia,  Giorgio Monari, Francesco Maria Ruspoli and Donna Giada Ruspoli 

Following lunch  Dr. Chiara Pelliccia winner of  the Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli international prize for music studies   spoke about  her research on  the cantata da camera of 17^th century musician, Giovanni Lorenzo Lutier  and  Dr.Giorgio Monari presented the “Miscellanea Ruspoli” studies in Baroque music .
Your comments (commenti anche in italiano o portoghese sono benvenuti )  are welcome.