In the heart of the historic centre of Acquasparta, overlooking the town’s main square, stands Palazzo Cesi, one of the most remarkable Renaissance buildings in southern Umbria.

The magnificent residence of the Cesi family, the palazzo bears witness to one of the most important periods in the history of the town, when Acquasparta became a meeting place for some of the leading figures in seventeenth-century European scientific culture. It was the favourite residence of Federico Cesi the Lincean, founder of the Accademia dei Lincei, and in 1624 it also welcomed Galileo Galilei.

A Palace for the Cesi Family and the Accademia dei Lincei

The history of the residence is closely linked to the rise of the family after which it is named. In 1540, Gian Giacomo Cesi and his wife, Isabella d'Alviano, daughter of the celebrated condottiero Bartolomeo d'Alviano, obtained the fiefdom of Acquasparta from Pier Luigi Farnese in exchange for that of Alviano.

The family already owned a property in the area of the ancient fortress, but just a few years later they began planning to transform it into a larger and more prestigious residence. In 1561, the work was entrusted to the Florentine architect Guidetto Guidetti and, following his death, to the Milanese architect Giovan Domenico Bianchi. Construction was completed around 1579, the year of the marriage between Federico Cesi I, son of Angelo Cesi and direct heir of Gian Giacomo, and Olimpia Orsini.

It was, however, with the son born from this union, Federico Cesi, known as the Lincean, that the name of the palace became inextricably linked to the history of science.

Federico Cesi: The Prince Who Chose Acquasparta

Born in 1585, Federico showed a strong inclination towards the study of nature from a very young age. At the age of just eighteen, on 17 August 1603, he brought together Francesco Stelluti, Anastasio de Filiis and Johannes van Heeck at the family's residence in Rome, thus founding the Accademia dei Lincei.

The name referred to the proverbial keen eyesight of the lynx and encapsulated the programme of the new scholarly society: to observe nature closely and to base knowledge on direct experience. The initiative met with opposition from Federico's father, who viewed his son's studies and companions with suspicion. Federico therefore spent several periods away from Rome, and the family home in Acquasparta soon became a place of retreat and study for him.

Federico's private life was also marked by profound losses: in 1616, his first wife, Artemisia Colonna, and his mother, who had supported his intellectual pursuits, died in close succession. His subsequent marriage to Isabella Salviati did not interrupt his increasingly deep connection with Acquasparta, and from 1618 Federico stayed more regularly at the palace, which became one of the principal centres of Lincean activity. A melancholy image often depicts him withdrawn in the small tower overlooking the garden, a secluded place where he is said to have sought peace during the final years of his life, when his health was increasingly fragile and he suffered from an ailment that could only be alleviated by his residence in Acquasparta and by the water brought in from Nocera.

Until the end of his short life, Federico continued to devote himself to his studies and to the organisation of the Academy. He died in Acquasparta on 1 August 1630, at the age of just forty-five, and was buried in the family chapel in the nearby Church of Santa Cecilia.

Galileo, the Microscope and the Apiarium

Among the most important relationships in Federico's life was his friendship with Galileo Galilei, who was admitted to the Accademia dei Lincei in 1611. The two maintained a regular correspondence throughout their lives, and Federico supported the scientist's research, also contributing to the publication of several of his works. In 1624, Galileo stayed in Acquasparta as the prince's guest.

The Linceans' interest in Galileo's studies extended beyond his best-known work in astronomy: considerable attention was also devoted to the so-called occhialino (little eye-glass), the microscope, which made it possible to observe aspects of nature that had previously been invisible. It was precisely through the observation of bees that one of the most celebrated achievements of the Lincean experience came about: the Apiarium, published by Federico Cesi in 1625, accompanied by the Melissographia, featuring detailed anatomical illustrations of the bee produced through microscopic examination.

The Apiarium formed part of the more ambitious Theatrum totius naturae, through which Federico sought to organise knowledge of the natural world systematically. The same programme included the Tabulae phytosophicae, devoted to the classification of plants, while the Linceans were also working on the Tesoro messicano, dedicated to the flora, fauna and minerals of New Spain, which represented one of the Academy's most demanding scientific publishing projects.

Acquasparta as a Lincean Laboratory

Palazzo Cesi was not merely an aristocratic residence or a meeting place for scholars. Together with its grounds, collections and surrounding territory, it became a veritable open-air laboratory. The residence was associated with gardens and spaces dedicated to the study of plants. In addition to the palace garden, the Linceans used a second area just outside the town walls, known as the Viridarium, devoted to botanical cultivation, observation and experimentation.

The surrounding countryside also became a field of research. In 1624, Federico discovered a deposit of fossil wood on his estate, which he studied together with Francesco Stelluti. These observations later gave rise to the Trattato del legno fossile minerale, published by Stelluti in 1637.

The study of nature went hand in hand with the collection of books, samples and objects. Federico assembled an extensive library and a natural history museum containing botanical, zoological and mineral specimens. His interest in antiquities also extended to nearby Carsulae, which at the time was part of the family's estate. Archaeological artefacts and inscriptions were transferred from the site to the palace to become part of the Cesi collections, some of which are still preserved in the residence today.