Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola - Room of the Maps (Vignola)

The Sala del Mappamondo, or Room of the World Map, is a frescoed room in the Villa Farnese at Caprarola. The pentagonal Renaissance residence was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. The room's walls present maps of the world as understood in the late sixteenth century.

The Villa Farnese was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, one of the most important architects of the Italian Renaissance. It was commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, a member of the powerful Farnese family. The pentagonal fortress-palace is located in the town of Caprarola, north of Rome.

The frescoes were painted around 1574 under the direction of Giovanni Antonio da Varese. They reflect the geographic knowledge and political ambitions of the Farnese family during the late Renaissance. The cartographic decorations combine artistic embellishment with contemporaneous geographic information.

The Villa Farnese is located in Caprarola, a town in the Lazio region of Italy, approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Rome. The pentagonal palace sits on a hillside and is one of the finest examples of Renaissance residential architecture. It is now a state museum open to the public.