The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a massive pentagonal mansion in Caprarola, Northern Lazio, Italy. A property of the Republic of Italy, it is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio. This villa is not to be confused with two similarly-named properties of the family, the Palazzo Farnese and the Villa Farnesina, both in Rome.
Situated above the town of Caprarola, the villa dominates its surroundings and is a construction of the Renaissance period. The pentagonal mansion is built on the pre-existing pentagonal fortress foundations, which belong to the estate acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1504.
During the 1550s, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, a grandson of Pope Paul III, planned to transform the partly constructed fortified edifice into a villa or country house. Construction work commenced in 1559 and it was completed by architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignala in 1573.
The villa is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture. Ornament is used sparingly to achieve proportion and harmony.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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