Caprarola

Caprarola is dominated by the imposing Palazzo Farnese, built in the 16th century: Alessandro Farnese made it his headquarters, making the village an architecturally unique place. With its frescoed interiors, the magnificent helicoidal staircase that Alessandro Farnese used to climb on horseback, the Sala del Mappamondo with its maps depicting the then known world, the Sala degli Angeli with its special echo effect and the magnificent Italian garden, the Palazzo is a jewel not to be missed. In order to enhance the view, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola built the Via Dritta, today known as Nicolai, a long sloping perspective telescope to build which 'gutted' the town in two, dividing the medieval village into two districts, Corsica and Sardinia.