Caprarola village is situated on a tuff spur in one of the southern side of the Cimini Mountain. This is one the most touristic places of the Tuscia area because of many reasons: palace, churches, typical food, Vico lake and above all the magnificent Farnese Palace.
In this article I am going to tell you five things you must do absolutely if you plan to visit Caprarola.
1) Visit the Farnese Palace
The Farnese Palace is one of the best palace in the whole Italy and every year thousand of tourists come over to see this beauty.
It is a the top of the hill where Caprarola was buid and he used to represent the power and the prosperity of one of the most important family in the 1500 d.c.
He was build by Vignola, a great architect, with the purpose to be the holidays house of the Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III.
Inside you can find lots of beautiful paintings, luxury rooms and a huge garden with gorgeous fountains. The most famous room is the "World Map Room" which is often used to record movies.
Palazzo Farnese
2) Discover the Santa Teresa church
Right in front of the Farnese Palace it is possible to see a beautiful church called Santa Teresa. You can reach it with a 15 minutes walk from the palace.
It was built thanks the Farnese family between the 1621 and 1623. They decided to build also a convent right behind the church and at the moment is occupied by the Carmelite priests.
They are willing to guest everyone happy to join them of a period of closet.
Chiesa di Santa Teresa
3) Trek in Vico lake and its Natural Reserve
The Natural Reserve, which include the Vico lake, the surrounding woods and the mountains, surely is the best option for the nature lovers.
The reserve extends for more than 4000 hectares and includes the the vulcanic lake and the mountain around it.
Lago di Vico
Here you can find many different species of plants. The most commons are beech trees, chestnut trees and hazelnuts trees. Also in this territory you can find and meet a lot of animals like foxes, martens, wild pigs, cormorants, little hawks and fishes like pikes, and perches.
4) Take a walk by the "straight street" in Caprarola
The village of Caprarola is divided in two by the most famous way in this place called "the straight street". This begins from the lowest part of the village and end in the highest point, right in front of the very touristic and huge Farnese Palace.
I have already spoken about it previously.
5) Taste the typical products
You cannot leave Caprarola without tasting its typical product!
Nocciole della Tuscia
Here you can find different types of pasta such as "fettuccine", "pici" and "gnocchi", lake fishes like pikes, and perches meat, and above all the hazelnuts. Their are famous all around the world for their quality. Their are used mainly for the confectionary industry and the demand is constantly growing.
You should absolutely eat the best desserts of the zone which are the "tozzetti" and the "amaretti", both made with hazelnuts.
If you are here around the end of august and the beginning of september you can see the hazelnuts festival, when this fruit is celebrated with many celebrations.
