Capodimonte is a small beautiful town on Lake Bolsena.

Perhaps Capodimonte is the prettiest town at Lake Bolsena. Capodimonte has a pleasant harbor and along the boulevard with various beaches are several bars and restaurants and of course my favorite boat rental company la Bussola from Alessandro Checquolo is highly recommended.

As the name implies Capodimonte, a cap on the mountain dominates here the 16 ^th century palazzo Farnese (yes here they are again, the Farnese family) on this small mountain.

This palazzo is one of the many residences built in this region by the wealthy Farnese family in the 15th and 16th centuries. For example, there is a Farnese palazzo in it Rome , which is now used by the French Embassy. Gradoli on the north side of Lake Bolsena also has one palazzo Farnese and what about the beautiful palazzo in Caprarola ?

The palazzo in Gradoli was Allessandro’s favorite summer retreat. He liked to spend the summer months in the area where his family lived on Lake Bolsena. The palazzo has beautiful rooms with frescoes from the Raphael school. It houses a small museum with historical costumes.

Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III, commissioned architect Antonio Sangallo the Younger for the construction of all palazzi.

Of course, a good Pope was / is not a Pope without a decent art collection. The collection of Allesandro Farnese can be found in Naples in the archaeological museum and in the Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte .

The island of Isola Bisentina opposite Capodimonte also has a memory of this Pope. This is where he had a small palace and a church built. If you want to see this island up close, renting a boat or taking a tour boat from Capodimonte is a bella idea. From the pleasant boulevard in Capodimonte you can easily reach Isola Bisentina with your (rental) boat or tour boat.

Grazie #RomanoNatali that I could use your beautiful photos of Isola Bisentina and Isola Martana in the video below.