A blow of eternity: the Tuscia from Viterbo
	There are still intact territories in our Wonderful Country, magical place immerged in an other time atmosphere, rich in art, history and culture. If, then, you add the not comparable splendour of an uncontaminated nature, you arrive in Tuscia. It is one of the most suggestive zones in Italy, but from the discrete fascination, not still touched by the mass tourism. The variety of its territory, its ancient small towns, its archaeological sites, its natural parks, its woods, its lakes, give the visitor the possibility of recreation and entertainment.
	The path we propose ends long Tuscia and starts from the Civita di Bagnoregio’s village. You allow the entrance to the country from the Saint Mary’s Door, unique access to the village soverlived between the five exciting in the past and so called because here rose a small church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The structure of the door caved in the tuff is Etruscan, the external coating is from the Medieval and Renaissance period: the two lions at the sides of the arch celebrate the win of the inhabitants from Bagnoregio on the Monaldeschi and the Baglioni of the 1457, while the real eagle located on it is the Reginaldo Polo’s Cardinal symbol (1547-1558).
Not lost the interesting Alemanni Mazzocchi Palace from the sixteenth century, with its characteristic rusticated door. The palace passed from the Alemanni’s to the Mazzocchi’s in 1658 and nowadays it is the council’s property and is used for cultural shows.
From Civita di Bagnoreggio we reach, following the SP56 (at 28 km distance), Bagnaia whose name is linked above all to the Villa Lante’s splendour. Really beautiful is the Pegasus’ Fountain, the winged horse that allows the water from the rock to pour at the strokes of clogs. From the top Muses and Graces, the semi-round, blow water in the small lake while four Nereidis spray it towards the top. The stairs on the left of this fountain takes to the “ Italian Garden ”; the road on the right, takes to the “Park”, a wood of enormous century ilexes. Here at the eyes of the visitor you show the Conservone, big pool of recollection and water distribution, the Lions’ Fountain and the Hunting’ Casino.
	From Bagnaia we reach Caprarola, through the SP57 first and the Canepinese street later; this last about 25 minutes. Here you can not lost a visit to the symbol of the small town, that is the Farnese Palace. Alessandro Farnese felt soon in love with Caprarola, for its strategic position and the healthy air you breath. So, he though to take again his grandfather Paolo’s dream and on the Jacopo Barozzi’s, called the Vignola, design started the works of the most famous Farnese’s masterpiece.
	Here worked the most important painters, the most known architects, the best you could have at the time in the study of a great urban planning that not only saw the Palace’s realization, but also the reconstruction of the urban nucleus that had to be rigorously adapted to the weight and the Palace’s prestigious. So, today we can appreciate the complex architectonic structure, the wonderful frescos lost between the false images of doors, windows, curtains, marbles and statues in a succession of visible games that makes confusion in the visitor, but also the wonders you discover from the top. The palace appears as an Olympus added by a unique entrance that, abandoned the Medieval ancient street’s sinuous paths, you go direct to the legendary stairs taking to the big square before the main entrance.
Up the ground floor you find the first floor, the Prelatis’ one. Here you find the rooms frescoed by Taddeo Zaccari, as the Seasons’ rooms telling the facts of Jupiter in the frescos, whose perspectives, ideated by Vignola, enlarge the spaces in a not real vision. Through these environments you reach the wonderful courtyard projected by Vignola in circular shape, composed by two characteristic superimposed porticos whose vaults were majestically frescoed by Antonio Tempesta. Great wonder had the helicoidal internal stairs, because the stairs to reach the top floors used to be built in the courtyard, while this one was derived inside and represented all the Vignola’s inspiration, so that it was called Royal’ Stairs. An austere stairs turning on thirty columns through which the Cardinal could reach the bedrooms by horse, too. On the first floor was built the Noble Plan, where you can admire the Cardinal’s bedroom, also called Aurora’s Room, and the celebrity’s rooms of the Farnese’s, called Room of the Farnesia Fasts, telling the story of the family in the frescos.
The typical product of the zone is the farro col pungolo often fitted with the legumes( lentils and beans), to do some tasteful soups.
NickName :Redazione
Creato il :2/23/2010