It was in 1556 that Cardinal Farnese commissioned Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola to take in hand the half-completed fortress at Caprarola and turn it into a country villa. Actual construction began in 1559 and was completed in 1573. Even when half completed, in 1561, Cardinal Alessandro commissioned Taddeo Zuccari and his workshop to decorate the rooms on the lower floor. The Stanza della solitudine was decorated by the same artists between 1563 and 1565, in accordance with a design created by Onufrio Panvinio.