RAINALDI, Girolamo
(b. 1570, Roma, d. 1655, Roma)

View of the water-chain

1610s
Photo
Villa Farnese, Caprarola, near Viterbo

The Villa Farnese was built for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589) who was made cardinal by his grandfather Pope Paul III (1468-1549), and named vice chancellor of the Holy Roman Church a year later, according him the highest position after that of the pope in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The architect of the construction was Giacomo da Vignola in the 1560s.

The upper gardens and casino were laid out by Giacomo del Duca in the 1580s. He incorporated into the design terraces, fountains and sculpture. They are remarkable for the synthesis of natural and manmade elements. The discovery of a new vein of water in 1616 led Cardinal Odoardo Farnese to expand the upper gardens by adding two lower pavilions, 24 herms surrounding the parterres in front of the casino, gardens and fountains at the rear of the casino, and ramps connecting the front and rear gardens. The architect was probably Girolamo Rainaldi. The programme of the upper gardens has never been worked out in detail, but the major elements include statues of Oblivion and Silence flanking the Lily Fountain, a dolphin water-chain flowing from the Fountain of the Chalice, which is in turn flanked by two river gods with cornucopias, and two unicorn and dolphin fountains.

The photo shows the water-chain with the fountain flanked by the river gods in front of the Casino.