# Caprarola and Bomarzo The Farnese palace at Caprarola, Lake Vico and the Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo with its stone giants: a day trip by car from Rome. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lazio/caprarola-bomarzo · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Caprarola and Bomarzo are two faces of the Tuscia Renaissance, an hour and a quarter from Rome, in the Cimini mountains, in the north of Lazio. In Caprarola, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese built a pentagonal palace, half fortress and half villa, which crowns the whole village. Thirty kilometres away, in Bomarzo, his contemporary Vicino Orsini did the opposite: he filled a wood with monsters, giants and a crooked house carved in the rock. Between the two, Lake Vico, a volcanic crater ringed by beech and chestnut trees. It's a day trip from Rome that works for anyone: the palace for those who come for the art, the Sacro Bosco for children and for those seeking something odd, and the lake and woods for eating outdoors. Nearby, in the same province, are Viterbo, with Villa Lante, and Civita di Bagnoregio, if you stay a night. ## How do you get there from Rome? By car, which is the practical way. To Caprarola, around an hour and a quarter along the Cassia to Monterosi and the Cimina. To Bomarzo, another hour and a quarter on the A1 motorway, exiting at Orte or Attigliano. Between Caprarola and Bomarzo it's about 30 km on the Cimini road, which passes beside Lake Vico; allow forty minutes. In Caprarola, park below and walk up; in Bomarzo, the park has free parking. Without a car, regional buses don't let you combine the two in a day. If you don't drive, choose one, or look at Viterbo, which has a train from Rome. ## What can you see in Caprarola? The Farnese palace, by Vignola, from 1559 to 1575. Inside, a circular courtyard, the royal spiral staircase with its painted dome and rooms with frescoes by the Zuccari brothers, among them the Room of the World Map, with the world as known in the 16th century and a ceiling of constellations. Behind, the secret gardens and the park, with fountains and a summer casino. Arrive along Via Dritta, the straight street laid out to look up at the palace from below. Afterwards, go down to Lake Vico, a 4,109-hectare nature reserve a few minutes away by car, and if you have the legs, climb Monte Venere, the volcano that grew inside the crater. ## What can you see in Bomarzo? The Sacro Bosco, the Park of the Monsters: an ogre with an open mouth, fighting giants, an elephant with a tower, a tortoise, a dragon and a tilted house in which you lose your balance, all carved from blocks of volcanic stone in the 16th century. It opens every day of the year except 25 December. On leaving, climb to the village and the Orsini palace. Between the two villages, on top of Monte Cimino, the Monte Cimino beech forest has been a World Heritage Site since 2017. ## How much time and when to go? A full day covers both: the palace in the morning, lunch in Caprarola or by the lake and the Sacro Bosco in the afternoon, which closes later. With a night, you add the lake, Monte Cimino and the village of Bomarzo unhurried. April, May and June are the best months for the gardens; October and November, for the woods. In winter, note: the palace park closes at 16:00. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Viterbo and Villa Lante (a 11.1 km), Calcata and the Treja Valley (a 25.8 km), Civita di Bagnoregio (a 26.3 km), Lake Bolsena and Tuscania (a 30.4 km) ## Qué hacer - **Farnese Palace in Caprarola** (1 h 30 · All ages; €2 reduced rate · 10): What it is Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had this palace built between 1559 and 1575 on the foundations of a fortress, to a design by Vignola. From outside it is a pentagon with bastions, half fortress and half villa, which crowns the whole village: Caprarola was reorganised around one straight street, the Via Dritta, that climbs to its façade. Inside it has a circular courtyard, the spiral royal staircase with its painted dome and rooms covered in Mannerist frescoes by the Zuccari brothers, among them the Map Room, with the continents known in the 16th century and a ceiling of constellations. Opening times and tickets Open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 to 19:30; the ticket office closes at 18:45. The ticket with the park costs €10; reduced, €2. When the park is closed, the palace alone, €8. There is no need to book; buy at the ticket office or on the Musei Italiani app. Closed on Mondays and on 25 December. What you need to know The park and gardens, behind the palace, close much earlier in winter: in November and December, last entry at 15:00. If you come in those months, start with the gardens. - **The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, the Monster Park** (1 h 30 · All ages; ages 4 to 13, €9 · 15): What it is In the 16th century Prince Vicino Orsini filled a wood beneath his castle with sculptures carved in blocks of volcanic stone: an ogre with an open mouth you walk into, fighting giants, a tortoise with a woman on top, an elephant with a tower, a dragon and a leaning house where you lose your balance. It is one of the strangest gardens in Europe and children love it. Opening times and tickets Open every day of the year except 25 December, without a break: from November to February, from 9:00 to 17:00; from March to September, from 9:00 to 19:00; in October, until 18:00 or 17:00 depending on the clock change. Last entry one hour before closing. Ticket, €15; ages 4 to 13, €9. Buy at the ticket office or on its website. What you need to know Dogs may not enter: at the entrance there are spacious free kennels, with a padlock and water bowl that they give you at the ticket office. Inside there is a bar and sandwich shop, a picnic area with tables and barbecues, a bookshop and the restaurant La Locanda del Mostro. - **The secret gardens and park of the Farnese Palace** (1 h · All ages): Behind the palace are the secret gardens and, higher up, a woodland with fountains that leads to a small palazzina, which was the summer residence of the President of the Republic Luigi Einaudi. They are entered with the €10 ticket. The park closes according to the month: from April to September, last entry at 18:00 and closing at 19:00; in November and December, last entry at 15:00 and closing at 16:00. - **Lake Vico and its nature reserve** (1 h 30 · Families): Lake Vico fills a volcanic crater in the Cimini mountains, about 8 km from Caprarola. Since 2008 the nature reserve has protected the whole basin and the mountains around it, 4,109 hectares, with the beech forests of Monte Fogliano and the cone of Monte Venere. It is the place to eat outdoors after the palace: quiet shores, woods and roads with viewpoints over the water. The reserve's headquarters are on the Cassia Cimina, km 12, in Caprarola. - **Climb Monte Venere above Lake Vico** (Walkers; from age 10): Monte Venere is the volcano that grew inside the crater of Lake Vico, covered in forest. The reserve publishes the CAI path 128b, on foot, from the Canale rest area, beside the shore, to the summit. The information sheet gives no distance or time: allow an easy half day and ask at the park headquarters before setting out. - **The village of Bomarzo and the Orsini palace** (45 min · All ages): Bomarzo, a kilometre from the park, is a stone village on a spur, topped by the great Orsini palace, the house of the family that had the Sacro Bosco carved. Go up after the park: alleys, the church and views over the Tiber valley. There is parking at the entrance to the old town. - **The beech forest of Monte Cimino, a World Heritage site** (1 h 30 · Families; easy forest path): On top of Monte Cimino, at about 1,050 metres, above Soriano nel Cimino, grows an ancient beech forest that UNESCO included in 2017 among the primeval and ancient beech forests of Europe, a World Heritage site. It is half an hour by car from Caprarola and Bomarzo. The paths run beneath the beeches, among blocks of volcanic stone, and in autumn the forest turns red. ## Dónde comer - **Trattoria del Cimino** (Restaurant, Caprarola, €€). Qué pedir: a home-made pasta with produce from the Cimini and Caprarola's hazelnut tart - **La Locanda del Mostro** (Restaurant, Bomarzo, €€). Qué pedir: a simple meal halfway through the visit, or pizza on Friday or Saturday night ## By plane: Fly to Rome and drive through the Cimini mountains Caprarola and Bomarzo are reached by flying to Rome: there are direct flights to Fiumicino from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, and to Ciampino from several. From Fiumicino it is about an hour and a quarter to Caprarola and an hour and a half to Bomarzo. Public transport does not link the two places in a day: hire a car at the airport or in Rome. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **La Valle di Vico** (Country house): In the lake reserve La Valle di Vico is a farm stay and bed and breakfast on Strada Comunale Caproceca, inside the Lake Vico nature reserve, a few minutes from Caprarola. It runs on renewable energy for heating and electricity, has an electric car charging point and a shop with its hazelnuts, chestnuts, oil and spreads. The apartments Nine units named after birds of the lake: Airone, Folaga, Picchio Rosso, Falco Reale and Picchio Verde, for two plus two; Poiana, for four plus two, and Moriglione, Pittimola Reale and Moretta, for two. All newly renovated, with independent entrance, satellite television, their own heating and free wifi. There is a park with a pool. Getting there By car: the farm stay is in the lake basin, between Caprarola and the shore. The Farnese palace is a quarter of an hour away and Bomarzo about forty minutes. - **Casale La Concia** (Country house, desde 85 € / night): Sleeping next to the monsters Casale La Concia is the guest house of the Sacro Bosco itself: a two-storey stone farmhouse, restored and surrounded by greenery, next to the park entrance. It is rented by the room or as a whole. The rooms Three rooms with private bathroom, for two people each: the ground-floor one, the Rosetones and the Baldaquino, from €85 a night. The whole house, for six, from €280 a night. They share an equipped kitchen, a common area, a private garden and an outdoor jacuzzi. Who it suits For a family or two couples who want to see the park first thing, before the groups, and get around by car in the Cimini: Caprarola, Lake Vico and the beech forest of Monte Cimino. ### Servicios - **Getting there from Rome by car**: Caprarola is about 60 km from Rome on the Cassia and the Cimina; Bomarzo about 90 km on the A1, exit Attigliano or Orte. ## By car: By car through the Cimini mountains A car is the only reasonable way to combine the Farnese palace and the Sacro Bosco in one day. The Cimini road crosses chestnut and beech woods, passes beside Lake Vico and climbs Monte Cimino. Parking is not a problem except on spring Sundays. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–150 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **La Valle di Vico** (Country house): In the lake reserve La Valle di Vico is a farm stay and bed and breakfast on Strada Comunale Caproceca, inside the Lake Vico nature reserve, a few minutes from Caprarola. It runs on renewable energy for heating and electricity, has an electric car charging point and a shop with its hazelnuts, chestnuts, oil and spreads. The apartments Nine units named after birds of the lake: Airone, Folaga, Picchio Rosso, Falco Reale and Picchio Verde, for two plus two; Poiana, for four plus two, and Moriglione, Pittimola Reale and Moretta, for two. All newly renovated, with independent entrance, satellite television, their own heating and free wifi. There is a park with a pool. Getting there By car: the farm stay is in the lake basin, between Caprarola and the shore. The Farnese palace is a quarter of an hour away and Bomarzo about forty minutes. - **Casale La Concia** (Country house, desde 85 € / night): Sleeping next to the monsters Casale La Concia is the guest house of the Sacro Bosco itself: a two-storey stone farmhouse, restored and surrounded by greenery, next to the park entrance. It is rented by the room or as a whole. The rooms Three rooms with private bathroom, for two people each: the ground-floor one, the Rosetones and the Baldaquino, from €85 a night. The whole house, for six, from €280 a night. They share an equipped kitchen, a common area, a private garden and an outdoor jacuzzi. Who it suits For a family or two couples who want to see the park first thing, before the groups, and get around by car in the Cimini: Caprarola, Lake Vico and the beech forest of Monte Cimino. ### Servicios - **Getting there from Rome by car**: Caprarola is about 60 km from Rome on the Cassia and the Cimina; Bomarzo about 90 km on the A1, exit Attigliano or Orte. ## As a family: Stone monsters and a palace of maps Few trips from Rome please children as much as the Sacro Bosco: a wood full of giants, an ogre whose mouth you walk into and a crooked house. Combine it with Lake Vico for running about and eating outdoors, and leave the Farnese palace for when they can stand a visit. ### What works best The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, ages 4 to 13, €9 Lake Vico, for eating on the shore The beech forest of Monte Cimino, an easy walk under the beeches The Map Room of the Farnese palace, with the painted maps ### Where to stay La Valle di Vico, with apartments for up to six and a pool Casale La Concia, the whole house for six ### Where to eat Picnic in the Sacro Bosco area, with tables and barbecues La Locanda del Mostro, inside the park ### Good to know Dogs may not enter the Sacro Bosco: there are free kennels at the entrance The Farnese palace park closes at 16:00 in winter ### Qué hacer as a family - Farnese Palace in Caprarola - The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, the Monster Park - The secret gardens and park of the Farnese Palace - Lake Vico and its nature reserve - The beech forest of Monte Cimino, a World Heritage site ## With teenagers: A strange garden, a volcano and a painted palace With teenagers, the Sacro Bosco works because it is truly strange, and the Farnese palace because of the spiral staircase and the maps. To burn off energy, the climb of Monte Venere or the beech forest of Monte Cimino. ### What works best The Sacro Bosco: the leaning house and the ogre The royal staircase and the Map Room of the Farnese palace The climb of Monte Venere, the volcano inside the crater of Lake Vico The beech forest of Monte Cimino, a World Heritage site ### Where to stay Casale La Concia, with an outdoor jacuzzi La Valle di Vico, with a pool ### Where to eat Trattoria del Cimino, with the hazelnut tart ### Good to know The palace and gardens take a good hour and a half Monte Venere is half a day on the mountain: footwear and water ### Qué hacer with teenagers - Farnese Palace in Caprarola - The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, the Monster Park - Climb Monte Venere above Lake Vico - The beech forest of Monte Cimino, a World Heritage site ## Consejos ### The palace in the morning It closes on Mondays, and the park closes early in winter. The Sacro Bosco stays open later. ### Caprarola hazelnuts It's Roman hazelnut country: hazelnut cake at the trattoria and bags in the shops. ### With a dog, you can't enter the Sacro Bosco There are free kennels at the entrance. ### Sunday is a good day The palace, the Sacro Bosco and the Trattoria del Cimino open on Sunday. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Can you see Caprarola and Bomarzo in one day? Yes, by car: they're about 30 km apart, forty minutes through the Cimini mountains. ### How much does the Farnese palace cost? €10 with the park and gardens; €8 for the palace alone when the park is closed; reduced, €2. ### How much does the Sacro Bosco cost? €15 for adults and €9 for ages 4 to 13. ### Can you go without a car? Not on the same day: buses are scarce. The practical option is a hire car. ### Can dogs enter the Sacro Bosco? No; there are free kennels at the entrance. ### Where should I sleep? At the farm stay La Valle di Vico, beside the lake, or at Casale La Concia, next to the Sacro Bosco.