Lazio · Viterbo
Caprarola
A Cimini hill town above Lago di Vico, dominated by the pentagonal Villa Farnese that Vignola built for the Farnese cardinals between 1559 and 1573.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 63.
The letter
Caprarola got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 10 min from Rome
- Population
- 5,157
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J31°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Caprarola stands at about 510 meters on the volcanic slopes of the Cimini, six kilometers east of Lago di Vico. The town is built on a single axis that climbs from the lower village to the Villa Farnese, the pentagonal Renaissance palace that organises everything below it. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger designed the original fortress in 1530; after Sangallo's death the work was suspended, and Cardinal Alessandro Farnese the Younger reassigned it to Vignola in 1559.
Vignola kept the pentagonal plan but turned it from a fortress into a Mannerist residence, with a circular colonnaded courtyard at its center, a scala regia spiraling between floors and the fresco cycles of the Zuccari brothers. Behind the villa, the Giardini Farnese climb into the chestnut and beech woods of the Cimini. Caprarola is part of the Città della Nocciola and Città del Castagno networks, a recognition of the volcanic soils that produce both.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 18 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 3 h 9 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 2 h 1 min or Siena 2 h 32 min.
Coming by train into Roma Termini? Caprarola is about 1 h 13 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Villa Farnese
Pentagonal Mannerist palace by Vignola, built 1559-1573 on Sangallo's earlier fortress plan, with a circular colonnaded courtyard.
Giardini Farnese
Sixteenth-century formal garden and casino di caccia behind the villa, climbing into the chestnut woods of the Cimini.
Lago di Vico
Volcanic crater lake at 510 meters, one of the highest of the major Italian lakes, shared with Ronciglione.
Monte Venere and Cimini
Wooded volcanic ridges around the lake, with chestnut and beech forest and marked trails inside the Riserva Naturale del Lago di Vico.
Chiesa di Santa Teresa
Seventeenth-century church by Girolamo Rainaldi on the lower axis of the town, part of the Farnese reordering of the village layout.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Trattoria del CiminoTrattoria
Three Gambero Rosso prawns for Trattoria del Cimino, along with a Slow Food snail and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Vineria Vignola Salumeria e cucinaWine Bar
Vineria Vignola Salumeria e cucina has two Gambero Rosso bottles to its name.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Caprarola meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 5,157 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Viterbo, a city of 66,393, is 35 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 5,157, down 4.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Viterbo, 35 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Civita Castellana, 17 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €500 to €750 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €4.30 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 94% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Rome Ciampino airport (CIA), 1 h 15 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Rome, 1 h 10 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
12% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 12 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France. There are 250 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 35% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Viterbo province ranks 71st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Civita Castellana, 17 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 45 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 15 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lazio spends about €2,270 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €647 a year for water, on the Lazio average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
VILLA FARNESE
Pentagonal Mannerist palace by Vignola, 1559-1573, with circular colonnaded courtyard and Zuccari frescoes.
LAGO DI VICO
Volcanic crater lake at 510 meters, one of the highest in Italy, ringed by chestnut and beech and protected as a regional reserve.
NOCCIOLA E CASTAGNA
Hazelnut and chestnut town in the Cimini volcanic soils, member of both the Città della Nocciola and Città del Castagno networks.
TUSCIA
The commune also lies inside the Tuscia DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Caprarola known for?
- Caprarola is a Cimini hill town above Lago di Vico, dominated by the pentagonal Villa Farnese that Vignola built for the Farnese cardinals between 1559 and 1573.
- Where is Caprarola?
- Caprarola is a comune in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio, at 510 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Caprarola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Ciampino (CIA), about 1 h 15 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Caprarola?
- About 2 h 1 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Caprarola?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Caprarola?
- Bagnoregio, Vitorchiano and Ronciglione.
- How many people live in Caprarola?
- 5,157 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Caprarola a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Caprarola is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Viterbo, is 35 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Civita Castellana, 17 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 94% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 510 m
- Population: 5,157
- Surface area: 57.58 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Caprarola appears in
- The best hidden hill towns that eat well in the province of ViterboViterbo provincehill towneats wellhidden6 towns · smallest 902 residents
- The best hill towns with a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of TerniNear Ternihill townwithin 90 minserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 3,452 residents · closest 33 min away
- The best small towns in Lazio for dinnerLazioserious restauranthidden8 towns · smallest 1,650 residents
- The 9 best hidden hill towns that eat well within 90 minutes of TerniNear Ternihill townwithin 90 mineats wellhidden9 towns · smallest 902 residents · closest 16 min away
- The 9 best hill towns with a serious restaurant in LazioLaziohill townserious restaurant9 towns · smallest 3,452 residents
- The best towns that eat well in the province of ViterboViterbo provinceeats well9 towns · smallest 902 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 58.
Ronciglione
Province: Viterbo
A tufa-brick borgo above Lake Vico, fortified by the Prefects of Vico and crowned Borgo dei Borghi in 2023.
9 min by car
- Written about. No. 66.
Viterbo
Province: Viterbo
The medieval capital of the Tuscia, papal seat from 1257 to 1281, when five popes were elected here, and home to the longest conclave in Church history.
15 km away
- Written about. No. 64.
Capranica
Province: Viterbo
A medieval hill town on the old Via Cassia, taken by the Anguillara family in 1305 and remembered as the place Petrarch stayed in 1337.
23 min by car
The letter
Caprarola got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.