Ex Scuderie Farnesiane Theater of the Farnese Palace in Caprarola

The imposing building of the Ex Scuderie the Farnese Palacee, built in the second half of the 16th century, extends internally for approximately 100 metres, with a width of 15 meters and a height of 20. Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, future Pope Paul III, fell madly in love with Caprarola when it was still under the guidance of the Della Rovere family. He purchased it to build a large fortified residence that would represent all the prestige, power and wealth of his family.

In 1530 work began on the construction of a pentagonal fortress designed by Antonio da Sangallo the younger, but it was not completed. Cardinal Farnese, in the meantime elected to the papal throne with the name of Paul III, dedicated himself from 1534 to the establishment of the duchy of Castro, an independent state within the pontifical one. The works will subsequently be resumed on the basis of the new project by Jacopo Barozzi, known as Il Vignola, for a larger and more sumptuous work in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.

The most important painters, the most illustrious architects worked there, the best that could be had in those times in the study of great urban planning which saw, in fact, not only the construction of the Palace but also the reconstruction of the urban nucleus which strictly had to be adapted to the size and value of the building. What was needed, then, was a structure functional to the life of the Palace. For this reason, the Farnese Stables were built, an imposing structure built between 1580 and 1583, which could contain 120 horses.

The first floor was used as a carriage house, on the second floor there were the barn, the apartments of the coachmen, the squires and the servants, up to the attic. The stables were used by the Farnese family until 1649, when the Duchy of Castro passed to the Church and therefore to the control of the Apostolic Chamber. In the following centuries they were adapted to various uses until 1978, when the Municipality of Caprarola began plans for a radical recovery and restoration of the structure.

The south-west part overlooks the immense panoramas of the great valley of southern Etruria and the Roman countryside. To the north-west there is a large park with centuries-old chestnut trees, firs, magnolias and box hedges, of great historical and cultural value. Today, the imposing structure of the Stables, with its majestic park, together with the adjacent Palazzo Farnese and the characteristic Renaissance village, contribute to reviving the splendor and magnificence of the noble house of Paul III.

After a long period of abandonment, in the 1980s it was entrusted to the Municipality of Caprarola which oversaw a radical recovery to use it for activities of common interest, events, conferences, guesthouses and, today, the Hotel Institute. The Ex-Scuderie Farnese Theater was also created in the structure and offers activities and workshops.

Map: Ex Scuderie Farnesiane Theater of the Farnese Palace in Caprarola