View of Caprarola in the Guards Room,
c. second half of the 16th century
Neptune Bath and the very bottom of the monumental dry
moat surrounding the fortress base of the palace, which
affords a remarkable natural air conditioning even in high
summer. I think, too, I glimpsed the ghost of Julia, if only in
the form of shadow and sunray, sitting writing in the studiolo
of the Winter Apartment, or strolling, turning a corner in
the giardino segreto, the secret garden, with its famous
casino, sometimes a summer residence of the President
of the Italian Republic.
The Villa Farnese has an aspect of fortress, such was its
original intent. It is surrounded by a moat with three bridges,
once drawbridges, and indeed, its pentagonal rocca
foundations with two towers flanking the main entrance,
constructed between 1515 and 1530, were for a fortified
castle, commissioned by the first Cardinal Alessandro
HYLAND
