Discover Farnese: Holiday Apartment, Rocca and Forest Trails

Farnese combines historic architecture with the rugged woodland of the Selva del Lamone. Between Rocca Farnese, Porta Nuova, the Museo Civico, craters and old forest trails, there are various options for planning your day.

Architecture and Museums in Farnese

Between the 13th and 17th centuries, Rocca Farnese was transformed from a medieval fortified building into an elegant aristocratic palace. Porta Nuova was built in 1613 by the architect Ettore Smeraldi. Rocca therefore represents a transformation spanning several centuries, while Porta Nuova marks the single year of its construction: 1613.

The Convento San Rocco comprises the church of “di Sant’Umano”, a 17th-century monastery and several buildings now used as guest accommodation. The church has choir stalls made of carved walnut, created by two Franciscan friars from France.

The Museo Civico “Ferrante Rittatore Vonwiller” in Farnese has a predominantly archaeological section and a natural history section.

Forest, Craters and Old Trails

Route 7a, the “Variante crateri”, is a short circular trail that runs alongside a series of craters of different sizes. As a short circular trail, it allows the series of craters to be followed along a limited section of the route.

Route 3, the “Sentiero dei Lacioni”, runs almost entirely through the forest along old mule tracks with uneven, predominantly rocky ground. Unlike the crater loop, the focus here is not a series of craters but the forest trail, with its old mule tracks and predominantly rocky ground.

The Selva del Lamone preserves evidence of settlements from the Bronze Age, as well as of the Etruscans and Lombards. The rugged, inaccessible woodland formed on a lava flow dating from approximately 150,000 to 50,000 years ago. The forest therefore brings settlement traces and the geological history of the lava flow together.

Trail Profiles for Planning Your Day

Stage 7 of the CAI 101 “Sentiero dei Briganti” has an E difficulty rating and takes 3 hours and 20 minutes. The duration of 3 hours and 20 minutes represents a multi-hour time block for this section of the trail. The short crater loop and the CAI section listed as taking 3 hours and 20 minutes therefore represent two clearly different time frames.

On the CAI 163 “Ponte di Santa Maria di Sala – Quattro Strade”, large sections run along paved or unpaved roads. These roads are also accessible by wheelchair and stroller. This accessibility applies to a large part of the route, not automatically to the entire trail. For planning this CAI 163 section, both paved and unpaved roads are therefore relevant.

Local Cuisine in May

The Festa di Primavera is a multi-day programme held in May and includes tastings of local cuisine and local wine. Its culinary focus is therefore clearly tied to the month of May.

Discover More Destinations

Also discover Nepi, Valentano Vt, Oriolo Romano, San Martino Al Cimino, Arlena Di Castro, Soriano Nel Cimino, Blera and Vignanello.

For the higher-level travel overview: Viterbo.