Farnese is a typical hill-town near Viterbo, on a spur of tufa rock, not far from the Tyrrhenian Sea and Lake Bolsena. In the 19th century Farnese was the scene of much brigandage and banditry.
Since the ditches that surrounded it acted as a natural defence, it was inhabited as early as the Bronze Age and in the Middle Ages it was part of Tuscia Longobardum, under the sway of the Frankish emperors. In the 11th century there was a castrum [fortified military camp], controlled by various noble families. Then the Farnese, so powerful in the 16th century as to have one of their family members, Alessandro Farnese, elected as Pope Paul III, created a little Renaissance town, with a Palace, whose imposing door was possibly designed by Vignola, and a viaduct connecting it with the Selva area.
This type of terrain was particularly suitable for brigandage, which flourished in the mid 19th century: thousands of hiding places, but only for those familiar with the lay of the land. The most famous brigand was Tiburzi, aka the King of Lamone or the Leveller, the last leader of the band of brigands in the Lazio part of the Maremma, but he was considered to be a “good” Robin Hood-style brigand, who fought against wealthy landowners to help the poor and avoided attacking the Carabinieri police force since in his eyes they too were poor souls forced to do their job out of necessity. The Brigands’ Trail, in the Lamone Nature Reserve, recalls the historical importance of these events and can tackled on foot, on horseback, by bike, even by car, on the main dirt track of the Reserve, which is part of an approximately 100-kilometre circuit that links up with Lake Bolsena, the Mount Rufeno Nature Reserve, and Vulci, the Etruscan necropolis so beloved of film directors.
Not to be missed: the Church of Sant’Anna, a 16th century gem with a cycle of frescoes that reveal an underlying alchemical significance, attesting to the high cultural credentials of those who commissioned it, and in the town centre the “butti”, excavated well-like spaces for storing water and wheat.
For gourmets and lovers of folk traditions: Canino Olive Oil DOP, produced exclusively by the eight municipalities in the area dominated by Mount Canino; on 17 January there are celebrations for Sant’Antonio Abate and Bruschetta Festival; on 10 May it is the turn of the Patron Saint Isidoro and on 15 August there is a festival in honour of Maria SS. Assunta.