Lake of Vico i okolica

Lake of Vico i okolica

Lago di Vico is the smallest, but the blackest of the lakes in northern Lazio: only, which has been turned into a nature reserve. Just like Bracciano, the lake fills the crater of an inactive volcano, and large mountains surround them. Monte Fogliano is the highest, which rises high on the west bank 963 m. Via Ciminia leads through the mountains, a popular landscape road with numerous roadside restaurants. A more peaceful road runs closer to the water (closed to traffic). On a fairly flat northern shore, a little wet in places, you can camp discreetly.

Traveling in this area of ​​Lazio is a chore and it would be best to have your own transport, but with a lot of patience, trains and (rare) buses. There are two rickety local queues with ORTE and after a careful analysis of the timetable, you can develop a sightseeing route. One leads to CAPRANICA via Ronciglione and Caprarola, druga do Viterbo przez Bomarzo i Montefiascone.

Caprarola: Palano Farnese

Apart from the beauty of the lake itself, there is nothing interesting to see, except maybe a few attractive towns with a handful of ancient Roman and Etruscan ruins, each of them is nothing special, but it's worth visiting several at once. However, the Palazzo Farnese deserves individual attention (in summer every day. 9.00-19.00; winter 9.00-16.00; spring 9.00-18.30; 2000 L) in CAPRAROLA, which (as are the villas in Bagnaia and Bomarzo, is one of the highest achievements of 17th-century Italian mannerism.

Buses run from Viterbo as well (very rarely) trains from Orte (35 minutes - connections to Rome), but remember, from the train station to Caprarola all the way 40 minutes. (After leaving the station, turn left to get to the city center, then right at the fork and go straight ahead).

The city is quite nice, and owes its present abundance to the enormous hazelnut plantations covering the area, but it is hard to resist the impression, that the place is only an addition to the palace, which reigns from the top of the steep main street. The building is a mannerist masterpiece, which Stendhal described as "architecture wedded to Nature". Palace, the construction of which began at the beginning of the third decade of the 16th century. Antonio di Sangallo the Younger for Pierluigi Farnese, was originally a castle, situated among the lands belonging to the Farnese family. Later Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and St. 1599 r. hired Vignola, that he would rebuild the stronghold, keeping a special pentagonal plan. Vignola's choice was inspired. He practiced in Fontainbleau, where great strides were made in the design of gardens and was one of the most outstanding architects of the late Renaissance. The Palace of Caprarola embodies the Mannerist style at its best and combines the values ​​of the superiority of art over nature professed during this period., style over substance, with an almost servile praise of the patron's virtues.

Most of the rooms on the five floors of the palace are closed to the public. Have to admit, that the facility is a bit neglected lately, as seen in cigarette butts and graffiti in the irregular front courtyard, and even in the representative halls themselves, stripped of all their furnishings. In their cool interior you can see the frescoes of the Zuccaro brothers 1560 r., celebrating the successes of the Farnese family.

These paintings are considered the greatest attraction of the palace, although some are terribly primitive, and others will come off the walls. A monumental spiral staircase with thirty pairs of Doric columns leads to the first floor, considered one of the more successful works of Vignola. Perhaps the only place, which does not serve to glorify the Farnese clan, is Sala del Mappomondo, the most beautiful hall in the palace, decorated with painted maps of the world known at the time and a magnificent plafond with constellations.

There are twin gardens outside, divided into a south-facing summer terrace and an east-facing winter terrace, with properly selected plants and spatial arrangement. An artificial grotto with stalactites brought from a real cave was also built. There is a park behind the gardens, part of which is made available four times a day, and the rest is the summer refuge of the president of Italy.

Practical information

There is only one hotel in Caprarola, Farnese, modern building among modern buildings, which should be used in really emergencies. There is a trattoria in the middle of the main street via F. Nicolai 44 and a pizzeria in front of the palace, access from Piazza Romei.

South of the lake

South of Caprarola there are three cities, each of which is worth spending half an hour if you have your own transport. RONCIGLIONE is the closest, with the old town located in a panoramic position over small ravines crossing the countryside from east to west. Turner found the estate picturesque enough, to immortalize them on the canvas, though Dickens later described it as "a city the size of a big pigsty". Today Ronciglione is posing as the "gateway to Etruria"; is said too, that Pontius Pilate was born here, but apart from a few churches there is little to see (AAST office in Corso Umberto 22 serves further details).

The situated Fr. 6 km to the south, SUTRI has more attractions and is partly medieval, partly with Etruscan walls, with the remains of the bizarre gates of the Cyclopean Wall. The location among limestone tuffs is typical of Etruscan cities, and the main attraction is the Etruscan amphitheater carved in solid rock, located south of the city with access to the main via Cassa. After adaptation by the Romans, the amphitheater was located 6000 viewers and although it is currently overgrown, looks interesting compared to the others, overly restored theaters in Italy.

Coming back to the city along Via Cassia you can take the path left to the other side of the river, where the very old church of Madonna del Porto is located, generally closed, also carved in rock. Originally, there were probably old Etruscan tombs here, first converted into the temple of Mithra, and then the church.

NEPI is another village on limestone erratic rocks, reigns over the three valleys on the road to CIVITA CASTELLANA. The main attraction here is the 11th-century Romanesque basilica of Sant'Elia, 2 km to the east, situated on a nice, the area surrounded by cypress trees. Inside, fragments of the 8th-century church and 12th-century frescoes in the apse.

Returning to Via Cassia, you reach VETRALL. There are some nice hiking trails nearby. One runs along the old railway line from Capranica to Civitavecchia, crossing the Tolfa hills, and the trip takes two to three days. Other routes (shorter) leave BLERA (bus from Viterbo or Tarquini), one leads to the Etruscan necropolis (2 time.); other, more panoramic, through a wooded ravine to BARBARANO ROMANO (3 time.).