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 .

Guests at a Hilltop Castle

Palazzo Orsini , Mugnano in Teverina

balcony  across  the piazza 

One of the many  castles  perched on hilltops  along the A1 Autostrada north of Rome  is Palazzo Orsini located  in the tiny village of Mugnano in Teverina, just a speck on the map and not included in any tourist itineraries. 

meeting at  Mugnano 's tiny park

the Barberini sisters  in  the courtyard 

 The owners are  sisters Elsa and Gabriella Barberini who   grew up here, a slice of heaven in Northern Lazio, bordering on the  regions of Umbria and  Tuscany .

the castle's  loggia 

entrance to Palazzo Orsini 

 

When they inherited the  rambling palazzo  from their parents they began the long, difficult restoration.  Over a period of many decades  they put their time and money into the huge project, while working as teachers. 

 courtyard with bricks in fishbone design 

The most recent  restoration involved repainting the façade and the installation of a new roof using the original terracotta roof tiles.

steep  stairway 

Now  Palazzo Orsini has been returned  to its original splendor, and has been officially inaugurated as  a very special historic  B&B with only   3 bedroom suites.  

Breakfast is served in one of the several frescoed halls or on the south facing  loggia and often the castle hosts receptions and  wedding parties which use the  tiny church  on the main piazza for the ceremony.

frescoed loggia overlooking the Tiber valley 

When a group of friends led by Pamela  and Terri  recently came to visit, the sisters  invited us to stop by on our way to  Bomarzo’s   Sacro Bosco  nearby.

homemade  crostata  and yogurt cake 

The day was splendid  and the views over the Tiber river valley from the castle’s frescoed loggia were breathtaking, especially to ladies hailing from  the flat plains of midwestern America.

hospitality for American  visitors 

  Elsa and Gabriella  showed us around their beautiful castle home pointing out  the different  phases of  restoration and original  architectural details such as fireplaces, secret  doors, frescoed walls and coffered wood ceilings. 

original door with peephole 

geraniums on the loggia

 What castles have you visited in Italy?  

Your comments are welcome.

the rose symbol of the Orsini  family   

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.

Bomarzo's Sacro Bosco

Have you visited  the town of Bomarzo...or only the Park? 

  

     For centuries  scholars have tried to understand  the meaning behind the esoteric sculptures of the  16^th century park  created by Vicino Orsini  in the valley below his palazzo in the tiny town of Bomarzo.  Perhaps  the  secret code of the Sacro Bosco  has finally been broken.

Orsini's Sacro Bosco, also known as the Park of Monsters,   has a new interpretation thanks to  Antonio Rocca whose study  Bomarzo Ermetica  was presented on Saturday in the magnificent  salone of Palazzo Orsini castle of Bomarzo.

above our heads -frescoed ceilings 

surprised  to see the floor tiles are just like mine 

 Among those present, local politicians, foreign professors and a large number of young people interested in the history and art of the area.

left to right: Mayor Roberto Furano, Sofia Varoli Piazza, Irene Temperini 

During the conference  landscape architect and historian  Sofia Varoli Piazza  explained  the connection  between landscape and historic gardens in the Tuscia area, others expounded on the  economic value of beauty and  how to promote  and protect sites such as the Sacro Bosco.

symbols or Vicino Orsini on the palazzo facade 

Off limits areas of  the palazzo-now the City Hall- were opened  allowing us to view the private  terrace with mottos by Orsini.  

Here  are a few of the inscriptions telling Orsini's  philosophy.

   

SPERNE TERRENA POST MORTEM VERA VOLUPTAS 

SAPIENS DOMINABITUR ASTRIS 

FATO PRUDENTIA MINOR 

Symbols of the Orsini and Farnese families-the bear, the rose and the lily-can be seen throughout the palazzo and the town. 

Orsini bear and Farnese  lily  by Claudio Magagnini

The park  was created  by Vicino Orsini  to honor his wife Giulia Farnese, to express his philosophy and  to amaze and out-do  his  contemporaries who created their Renaissance gardens  in other towns of the Tuscia-Viterbo area also  known as Etruria. 

the Sacro Bosco  lies in the valley below the palazzo

At the palazzo complexes  of  his contemporaries (Marescotti Ruspoli in Vignanello,  Lante della Rovere in Bagnaia and Farnese in Caprarola) the gardens are all adjacent to the buildings,  but at   Bomarzo  the park  is quite a distance away since the palazzo is built atop the steep hill. 

    The two sites complement one another: without the palazzo, the park, now owned by the Bettini family,  is incomplete and vice versa.

from this terrace, Vicino Orsini looked down to  his  Sacro Bosco

Over the centuries  the  roads that linked the Sacro Bosco to the palazzo on the hill  have been destroyed but hopefully they can be newly joined. If the administration can solve the parking problem with a shuttle bus many of the thousands of  tourists who come the park each year could also enjoy  the rarely seen historic center and the palazzo. 

 As usually happens in Italy, the conference ended with a buffet. It was  served  in the entrance hall of the palazzo,  overflowing into the piazza . 

 

The author and friends improvise  a table in the piazza

After  the buffet  and some exploring in the old medieval center, Antonio Rocca  accompanied  those present  to the Sacro Bosco for an  in depth, on site explanation.    Have you been to the town of Bomarzo?  to the Sacro Bosco?    

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