The Renaissance Garden of the Castello Ruspoli Near Rome
The medieval Ruspoli fortress in the Roman campagna, which was converted into a princely residence in the 16th century, boasts one of Europe’s best-preserved Renaissance gardens. It has remained intact since the 18th century.
At first glance, the four imposing corner towers and deep moat recall the original purpose of the Castello Ruspoli, 70 kilometers north of Rome. It was built as a medieval fortress to protect Tuscia, a part of central Italy that includes some of the areas once under Etruscan influence. The earliest records of a castle on this site date back to 847, before it became a Benedictine convent around the year 1000. The Church and the powerful Aldobrandini, Orsini and Borgia families fought over the region until the 16th century. In 1531, Pope Clement VII gave the stronghold and the fief of Vignanello to Beatrice Farnese Baglioni. Three years later, his successor, the Farnese Pope Paul III, confirmed the decision and raised the fief to the rank of county. Then, Beatrice’s daughter, Ortensia, married an advisor to the pontiff, Ercole Sforza Marescotti, one of whose distant ancestors from Scotland had fought alongside Charlemagne. In the 18th century, the Ruspoli, an old Florentine family on the verge of dying out, acquired the domain through marriage. A family tree painted on a wall next to the chapel traces the dynasty’s ancestral lineage. The name Ortensia Farnese, a three-time widow said to have killed one of her husbands with a fireplace poker, stands out amidst its foliage. She is the one who had the grim fortress turned into a pleasure palace, although the drawbridge was kept. Architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger rebuilt the interior, while Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola designed the grounds. Coffered ceilings graced the huge reception rooms, whose walls were covered with damascened leather tapestries, while vaults were decorated with frescoes by Francesco Corallo.
Sober Elegance
The rich carpet of greenery created for the pleasure of one of Italy’s oldest and most distinguished noble families can be taken in with a single glance from the upper windows. Deemed one of the Renaissance era’s most beautiful hanging gardens, it was designed in 1611 at the request of Ottavia Orsini, daughter of Prince Pier Francesco Orsini, who also created the extravagant gardens of Bomarzo. A stone’s throw from Vignanello, they are dotted with architectural follies and sculptures whose meaning remains shrouded in mystery. In Vignanello, on the other hand, elegant sobriety is on display. No statue is lost in the lush natural vegetation; no water features grace the grounds. The owners’ initials carved out in the boxwood beds are the only concession to fantasy. The Castello Ruspoli boasts one of the Renaissance period’s most representative gardens. Architect Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-1573), a theorist who left a mark on his field with the Treatise on the Five Orders of Architecture, designed the original project. His work, carved into the stone of villas and the boxwood in the pleasure gardens that surround them, also ensured that he would be remembered. Fulfilling a desire for simple lines and a perfect sense of balance and harmony, the garden at Castello Ruspoli is a veritable manifesto of topiary art, which was enthusiastically embraced by Europe’s royal and aristocratic families. Divided into four lanes and 12 boxwood parterres laid out around a fountain designed by Vignola, it features perfectly rigorous geometric proportions. There are no flowers or changes in elevation to distract strollers from their thoughts. Unlike those of neighboring villas, this hanging garden is on flat ground. It is perfectly aligned with the castle to offer contemplative views of the surrounding valley’s harmonious curves. At the end, a smaller garden behind a high wall, accessible by a small staircase, overlooks the town below. This, the more natural part, symbolizes emotions and instincts, in contrast with the more formal section, embodying rationality.
Building Sites and Beautification
Unchanged since the 18th century, this dreamlike setting then passed into the hands of Francesco Maria Marescotti Ruspoli (1672-1731), whose wish to boost the family’s glory came true in 1709 when Pope Clement VII elevated his newly-created marquisate of Cerveteri to the rank of principality. The title was obtained thanks to the wise counsel of an uncle who advised him to raise a regiment for the armies of the Papal States in their war against Austria. But Francesco was more interested in art than war. In 1690, he was a founder of Rome’s Arcadia Academy, which brought together poets who had been close to Queen Christina of Sweden. However, he preferred notes to verses, in particular those of Italian baroque singer and cellist Antonio Caldara, French flutist Jacques-Martin Hotteterre and especially his friend George Fredric Handel. The young German composer, who arrived in Italy at the age of 20, became Prince Ruspoli’s concert master. At the castle, he enjoyed not only his generous patron’s hospitality, but also the quiet of the Lazio countryside. The peace he found during his frequent stays there inspired about 50 of his works—mostly cantatas but also the famous Resurrection oratorio. Francesco’s descendants, who still spend much of the year in Vignanello, honor that memory by hosting a music festival every year. Their illustrious ancestor carried out the last major refurbishment and decoration works at the castle, as well as its first restoration. In 1721, one of his distant relatives, Pietro Francesco Orsini, better known as Pope Benedict XIII, granted the Marescotti Ruspoli the hereditary title of Roman princes, making them full members of the “black nobility” in the service of the papacy. Four years later, he came to Vignanello to consecrate the collegiate church of Santa Maria, built between 1710 and 1723 on the foundations of an ancient Roman temple. To host him in the best possible conditions, Francesco called on the services of Benedict’s gardener and spared no effort in the transformation and beautification of his palace. In 1713, the family had moved into an opulent 16th-century Roman palace to display all the pomp befitting their rank. The Vignanello castle, especially its garden, has remained their refuge ever since, away from the bustle of Rome.
Worth Seeing
Castello Ruspoli, Vignanello, Italy.
castelloruspoli.com
