Hill towns near Rome: Ronciglione

If you are watching  the TV series  “The Borgias”  you are taking a virtual tour of  some of the  hill towns in the area north of Rome.  

Main gateway entering Ronciglione 

  Last night’s episodes  featured  a bull fight in the amphitheatre of Sutri and   a visit to the Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano. See more about this castle on the blog posts of the past couple of weeks. 

gorge  and medieval quarter, Ronciglione 

  

laundry  with cupola and bell tower 

Vignola's   fountain of the Unicorns 

exploring the back streets  of Ronciglione  

  The  film director  used some  good camera work  to make the view from the castle gardens  look like  the Bay of Naples.

Ronciglione  once had a  ghetto 

garden on the street 

Those of us who live here  have our personal favorites: usually they are the towns we know best…where our friends live, or where our  favorite restaurants are located.

castle of Julius II 

 Many of  the hill towns  in the Etruria area  coincidentally  begin with the letter “V”: Vignanello, Vallerano, Vitorchiano and  of course Vetralla.  I’d love to hear why from  a specialist in  linguistics.  

medieval  alley way 

 Last weekend’s outing  brought me to  an “R”  town; Ronciglione, known familiarly  by  the natives  as “Ronciò”, which is also the name of a typical farming utensil used  to hoe and cut crops. 

It has also been used  as  a murder weapon  in the dark days  when families such as the Borgia   lived and ruled in this area. 

Entering  the town through an imposing doorway topped with papal coat of arms,  we walked along the main street where colorful Baroque period  facades  made a sharp contrast  with the  dark stone  of the medieval houses. 

 Each February a terrifying  rider-less horse race is held  along this street to celebrate  Carnival time .   

bright Baroque 

The town is dotted with churches,  bell towers, palazzi, convents and castles and the medieval quarter  is intact and  perfect for a stroll , but watch out for falling roof tiles.

a green corner of the medieval quarter 

Ronciò  cat  

cats rule

Being  originally  from the mill town of  Lowell, MA where the rushing waters of the Merrimack river created  the Industrial Revolution  in the 1840s-60s and the famous “Mile  of  Mills”, I felt  quite at home in Ronciglione.
Which is your favorite hill town in Italy? 

The streams  which rush through the gorges were used  as a primitive source of water power which made Ronciglione an early industrial center with production of metal objects and printing. Playing cards produced here were famous around the world. The tradition is continued by the Spada  printing company  which produced  my book Etruria.    

Borgia,

Castles  and Capers   in Borgia  Country

Loggia  and fountain  of Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

Borgia, Farnese, Orsini… these  are just  a few of the powerful  families  who  held sway in  Etruria , an area north of Rome   that  the Italians  call Tuscia Viterbese . 

Borgia-Farnese  castle, Nepi 

Thanks  to  their   connections,  powerful   papal nephews  were able  to acquire  lands and create  magnificent  palazzi  and  gardens  in this now quiet area north of Rome. 






Nepotism allowed them to commission  splendid  estates and art work for  their private enjoyment and to dazzle  visitors. 

As  modern  TV series show,  many of the papal  family members   were not  always   up to religious  standards. 
Their lifestyles were often  more  outlandish and   exciting  than anything  a script  writer  could invent today.     

waterfall  near Borgia Castle  at Nepi 

Farnese  coat of arms, Nepi 

 Nepi - Borgia fortress

Lucrezia  Borgia,  daughter of Pope Alexander  VI, Rodrigo Borgia,  was often visitor  in Nepi where the  towers, massive walls and  underground areas still  ooze  history even when a modern day gastronomy festival is  happening.

One of the papal nephews  of  the Farnese  family  was  responsible  for  the magnificent  Palazzo Farnese, in Caprarola. Along  with the Palazzo Farnese in Rome –the present  French Embassy –  it epitomizes    Renaissance  architecture and art.

upper gardens  of  Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

upper gardens and Casina dei Piaceri

  Caprarola’s Palazzo Farnese,  designed  by Architect   Vignola, can be considered  the original  pentagon  for  it has  5 sides,   a circular  central courtyard  and  perfectly  square or rectangular  rooms.       And what rooms!

design  by Justin Bradshaw  

There are  frescoed  walls including  the  map room dedicated  to explorers. The  gilded ceilings  and multi-colored terracotta tile floors are  perfectly  maintained mosaics . The south-facing  rooms were used in winter,while  those on the northern side, were lived in  during the hot summers.

glazed terracotta  tiles of the loggia, Caprarola

 This hillside  town  named after  goats (capra=goat)   is  a perfect   place to   relax  in style, just as it was for  powerful men  of the past, from the   Farnese  popes and  cardinals to  Prince Charles  and  Italian presidents  in pre-Berlusconi  days.

view towards Rome from Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

The views from the loggia of Palazzo Farnese stretch  all the way to Rome (35 kms )  while   Mount Soratte’s  majestic   outline  looms  in the distance. 

fresco  by Zuccari , Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

The Zuccari  brothers and their crew of  decorators  did not  have to worry about  expenses   thus  the Palazzo , its  gardens , fountains  and the   Casina  dei Piaceri  show   papal nepotism  on a grand scale .   

Along the lakeside road  traveled by  artists, architects and stone masons  who   worked  with the wealthy families  of  Viterbo,  Vetralla  and  Caprarola  we find a simple  fountain  of Santa Lucia, emblazoned with Farnese  symbols.   

Santa Lucia, Lake DiVico , between Vetralla and Caprarola

Capers,  considered  an aphrodisiac, still  grow  today  on  the south facing  walls   and were    used  for  medicinal purposes, to help digestion and hangovers. 

Opening the hydraulic system for   giochi d'acqua

Interestingly ,   the word caper,   also means a  joyful leap  or  a  high- spirited escapade . Note  the  water games installed  to surprise  visitors with sprinkler systems that are still perfectly  functional today.

Another  “season  of capers”   happened  in the early 1900s when an   eccentric   Boston lady  and her daughters   lived at the Palazzo and their lifestyle  was immortalized  in   Gabriele D’Annunzio’s   “Le Vergini delle Rocce”.  
For more about  the palace and the underground multimedia  area  check  out Palazzo Farnese .

For more stories about  the palazzi and gardens of the area  purchase your signed  copy of "Etruria-travel, history and itineraries in central Italy".