View of the ceiling

In the two rooms on the piano nobile suited for a larger public, the Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani and the Sala del Concilio, Taddeo Zuccaro painted a cycle depicting, in a total of twenty-three scenes, the history of the Farnese family.

The depiction of events from family history already had a long tradition in the Farnese family. Vasari painted a cycle in the Cancellaria, Rome, and Salviati in the Palazzo Farnese, Rome. Yet no cycle of paintings before Caprarola had depicted the history of the Farnese in such an extensive manner, from medieval times up to the present day.

The Sala del Concilio, the room connecting to the large Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani, is dedicated entirely to the deeds of Paul III. The ceiling shows the coronation of the pope in the centre, surrounded by four further events: Paul III Accompanies the Fleet Sailing to Tunis with His Intercession in 1535 (below the central image); Paul III Excommunicates Henry VIII in 1536 (to the right); Paul III Persuades Charles V and the Venetians in 1538 to Attack the Turks with a Joint Fleet (to the left); and Paul III Receives a Legation of Perugians in 1540 (above the central image).