8961 Villa lante, Bagnaia/Viterbo

[url=http://www.infoviterbo.it/villa_lante_bagnaia_eng.htm]Villa Lante Bagnaia Viterbo[/url]
Just came across this (another lovely place within about 20 minutes of me that I knew nothing about .. isn't the web wonderful!) and it looks fab - reminiscent of the Villa D'Este/Tivoli Gardens - though less famous (& presumably less extensive?). Added to my list of things to see, may give it a go next time I'm in Italy & if so will report back.

Category
Do & See

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 02:43

Really beautiful. Another place for my list. It reminds me of Villa Garzoni in Collodi (LU). Much more interesting than the Pinnochio Park nearby.

[url=http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden/villa_garzoni]Villa Garzoni - a review from the Garden and Landscape Guide[/url]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 06:13

[quote=Gala Placidia;84417]Really beautiful. Another place for my list. It reminds me of Villa Garzoni in Collodi (LU). Much more interesting than the Pinnochio Park nearby.

[URL="http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden/villa_garzoni"]Villa Garzoni - a review from the Garden and Landscape Guide[/URL][/quote]
One of the two photos on my kitchen wall next to the sink is the big stone stairs up the hill in the gardens at Villa Garzoni.:smile:

(The other is the Fiera delle Messi in San Gimignano.)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 16:20

Yes , architect friend of mine had Villa Lante on his list of "must sees" and not disappointed.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 16:47

The Villa Lante has a dominant position over the small town of Bagnaia, but if you haven't visited Caprarola you ain't seen nothing yet.
There was this Farnese Cardinal, who became Pope Paul III, (not a very nice chappie and much given to building papal fortresses to subdue the masses). His saving grace was that he commissioned a most wonderful military architect/engineer called Sangallo (there were two of them, the elder and the younger), and the Rocca Paolina in Perugia is one of their gems. Okay, it is demolished now, but the conservationist ideas of Sangallo are there to be seen and wondered at when you use the escalators from the Piazza Partigiani.
Sangallo also did the castle/palace in Gradoli, and (I think), the castle surmounting Bomarzo.
Anyway, he started to build a fortress (pentagonal plan) in Caprarola for Pope Paul III, but then the Pope died, and his grandson inherited this fortress basement. Clearly the grandson had his head screwed on, and rather than demolish these earlier works, he asked Vignola to throw up a pretty fabulous Palace. A slightly confining brief for an architect - these are your foundations, I know they look destined for a fortress, but build me a domestic Palace!
The Palace is connected by bridges to the Giardino Italiano, and when (or maybe before) it was all finished they rebuilt the village of Caprarola to create a wondrous frame for this expression of vanity. Definitely worth a visit. Futher info on [URL="http://www.italy-weekly-rentals.com/WEBPAGES/accessori/UPPERLATIUM/CAPRAROLA.htm"]Turist guide to visit the Farnese Palace of Caprarola in North Lazio Italy[/URL]
[ATTACH]1931[/ATTACH]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 16:50

wow! knocks the pentagon into a cocked hat! my list continues to grow ...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/09/2008 - 20:32

Back to Villa Lante, It was just featured on a fab program on BBC2 (Monty Don's "around the world in 80 gardens") - a nice little bit of serendipity coming hot on the heels of my discovering it & then gettng educated about it on this thread!

Villa D'Este and Villa Lante were the two gardens covered in Italy, and the program also did the Alhambra and Cordoba's patios; and the Marjarelle gardens in Marrakech amongst others. I've beeen fortunate enough to visit all of them except for Villa Lante, and it was described as (something like) "possibly the most perfect example of the Eurpoean renaissance garden, and the model for all wich came after". So, it's definitely at the top of my list now, cant wait until May when I'm next over to go for a visit!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 10:42

Hi Pigro
May is a good time of the year to visit the gardens of Villa Lante. At that time of year the water features should still be working well.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 14:18

For anyone visiting Villa Lante May/June, just 5 Km from Bagnaia is the most beautiful peonie 'farm'. It has worldwide fame and boasts the most extensive collection of peonies ever shown in one area.

From Bagnaia follow the road towards ORTE until you reach PALLONE. The entrance is opposite the supermarket and entrance is free.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/19/2008 - 13:12

Hi Cherita!
Thanks for posting the info about the 'peonie farm' It sounds just like our sort of place. Will make a note to visit this May.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/04/2008 - 12:01

Villa lante was lovely, not only the formal gardens and the beautiful use of water to "dress" them, but the surounding woodland was ideal for a stroll & a picnic.

Palazzo Farnese was stunning. I'm glad that I had a look at the aerial photos posted above before I visited - the sheer scale of the building is so vast that it's not really possible to perceive it as a pentagon from the ground, nor to appreciate it's sheer dominance of the approach road up from the town beneath. We visited today (Sunday) when only one of the two gardens were open to visit. The garden was fairly inconsequential (particularly havign to follow Villa lante as an opening act!!), but it comes at the end of a stunning tour through the palace ... it's death by frescoe. The map room was inspirational and the great spiral stone staircase also trully majestic.

All in all, Villa lante & palazzo Farnese are possibly amongst the best €4 you could spend in a day's touring.