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Palazzo Chigi-Albani, an architectural jewel of extraordinary beauty, is the main attraction of Soriano nel Cimino. The building of the vast historical-artistic complex, of which Fonte Papacqua should be mentioned, was commissioned by Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo, bishop of Trento and Bressanone, who had acquired from the Carafa the fiefdom with the castles of Soriano and Gallese.
Info: Municipality of Soriano nel Cimino, piazza Umberto I n. 12, tel. 0761742235, fax 0761742252,
ProLoco of Soriano nel Cimino Piazza Umberto, I
01038 – Soriano nel Cimino (VT) Tel / Fax 0761.746001 – info@prolocosoriano.it
Agostino 334.7596098 Roberto 331.3651414 Fausto 340.3609305
See also: Soriano nel Cimino Library
PALAZZO CHIGI GARDENS
DESCRIPTION
Palazzo Chigi-Albani, an architectural jewel of extraordinary beauty, is the main attraction of Soriano nel Cimino. The building of the vast historical-artistic complex, of which Fonte Papacqua should be mentioned, was commissioned by Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo, bishop of Trento and Bressanone, who had acquired from the Carafa the fiefdom with the castles of Soriano and Gallese. The design and direction of the works, carried out between 1564 and 1571, was entrusted to the Perugian architect Ottavio Schiratti, who died precisely at that time, although it does not seem that this could have involved substantial changes to the original Papacqua project. The Madruzzo building was to perform the function of “maisonnette”, a country casino; it is not possible to establish whether there was a previous building or garden arrangements, it is only known that, in Roman times, the Papacqua district was crossed by a road, which started from the Cimina, ran through the Ferentana and joined with the Amerina near by Orte. Probably in the mid-sixteenth century the district stood in the open countryside, a secluded and solitary place, where an impetuous source of water gushed out.
The palace was used by Madruzzo as a holiday resort from 1572, but death struck the cardinal in 1578, who could not see the projects completed. A massive construction in peperino, worked with ashlar and surmounted by an arch, adorns the gate that leads to the noble architectural complex, also known for the park, embellished and placed under the dominion of the Albani family. One side of the building overlooks the garden. This park was originally intended to have a greater extension than the present one, so much so as to incorporate the area crossed by the street called “of the garden”, with the adjacent “mirror house”. A monumental gate called the “iron gate” gives access to the wooded area.
ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
D’ARCANGELI V., Monumenti archeologici e artistici del territorio di Soriano nel Cimino e delle zone limitrofe, Soriano nel Cimino (Vt) 1967.
D’ARCANGELI V., Soriano nel Cimino, in “Tuscia viterbese. I Comuni” vol. II pp. 316-325, Roma 1968.
D’ARCANGELI V., Soriano nel Cimino nella storia e nell’arte, Viterbo 1981.
FAGLIARI F. T. – ZENI BUCHICCHIO, Ottaviano Schiratti da Perugia: l’architetto di Papacqua per Cristoforo Madruzzo, in “Arte e Accademia”. Accademia di Belle Arti “Lorenzo da Viterbo”, anno 1989 pp.145-193.
Soriano nel Cimino, a cura di Carivit S.p.a., autori D’ARCANGELI V., SANTOCCHI A., Viterbo 1993.