Elegant Etruria

The Renaissance countess who ruled Vignanello with  an iron hand and dispatched three  husbands when they were no longer wanted or needed, has been considered one of history’s most heinous women. Now, after more than 500 years, Ortensia Farnese now has a face to go along with her reputation.

Thanks to the restoration and cleaning of  frescoed walls  in the tiny  14^th century  San Pietro church (also known as the Madonna del Riscatto/ Ransom) Ortensia’s face is now visible in  two separate  portraits .

 

Learn the entire story of this Renaissance woman, her  terrible fame and how her forgotten face and story have been re-discovered in a tiny church in the town of Vetralla.  An entire chapter  of “The Painted Palazzo” is dedicated to this story.