Rome: A villa in the middle of Rome with the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio is being built for auction Following a court order the house was restored by its last occupants: a Texas-born princess and her late husband, who was a member of one of Rome’s aristocratic families.
Casino dell’Aurora, also known as Villa Ludovisi, was built in 1570 and has been in ludovisi family from the early 1600s. Following the death of Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovici in 2018, the villa became the subject of an inheritance dispute between children from his first marriage and his third wife, Rita Jeanneret Boncompagni Ludovisi.
A judge recently ordered the villa to be put up for auction, which is set for January 18, with a value set at 471 million euros ($533 million) and an opening bid of 353 million euros ($400 million).
The listing on the Rome Tribunal’s auction site highlights many of its features, although it notes that 11 million euros ($12.5 million) in renovations will be required to comply with current standards. a “monumental property“At six levels, the listing says it is “among the most iconic architectural and landscape beauties of pre-integration Rome,” with three garages, Caravaggio, two thatched roofs and “great gardens with plantations and tall trees, walkways, stairs and rest areas.”
The American princess, who was married to former US Congressman John Janet, Jr., contemplates leaving her home of nearly 20 years. When she married Boncompagni Ludovisi in 2009, the villa was dilapidated, and her new husband only used it as an office.
“I really started trying to restore it as much as possible,” Mrs Boncompagni Ludovisi said during a tour of the property on Tuesday. “Actually, you need to be a millionaire, not a millionaire. If you have a house like that, you need to be a billionaire, because you want to make everything right. You don’t want to do anything wrong.”
In 2010, the couple decided to open the villa to the public for tour groups and dinners to help fund continued maintenance and renovations. In addition to a Caravaggio terrace and lush outdoor gardens, the 2,800-square-metre (30,000-sq-ft) home, Via Veneto is set off from the amenities graffiti by Guercino. It is also – as Mrs. Boncompagni Ludovisi likes to note – that over the centuries there was a long line of visitors, including American-British writer Henry James and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
“After a while, you think you get used to it. But I never did,” she says.
Caravaggio was commissioned in 1597 by a diplomat and patron of the arts, who asked the young painter to decorate the ceiling of a small room that he used as an alchemy workshop. The 2.75 m (nine feet) wide mural, which depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, is unusual: it is not a mural, but oil on plaster, and represents the only ceiling mural known to have been made by Caravaggio. goes.
“It is a rare image on the one hand, and of great value on the other, because it is made by an outstanding artist,” said Claudio Strinati, art historian and Caravaggio expert. “The choice of oil-on-wall technique probably stems from the fact that Caravaggio was not technically fluent in painting graffiti.”
Mrs Boncompagni Ludovisi hopes that eventually the Italian government will take over the villa so that it can remain in the public domain. As a historic site protected by the Ministry of Culture, Italy may try to match the highest bid in action.
For now, she is enjoying her last moments with the treasure.
“Sometimes I go over there and I take my yoga mat and I do my yoga under the Caravaggio, because it’s so relaxing,” she said. “And now, knowing I’m leaving, I treasure every moment, every moment I think about when the auction will take place.”
Casino dell’Aurora, also known as Villa Ludovisi, was built in 1570 and has been in ludovisi family from the early 1600s. Following the death of Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovici in 2018, the villa became the subject of an inheritance dispute between children from his first marriage and his third wife, Rita Jeanneret Boncompagni Ludovisi.
A judge recently ordered the villa to be put up for auction, which is set for January 18, with a value set at 471 million euros ($533 million) and an opening bid of 353 million euros ($400 million).
The listing on the Rome Tribunal’s auction site highlights many of its features, although it notes that 11 million euros ($12.5 million) in renovations will be required to comply with current standards. a “monumental property“At six levels, the listing says it is “among the most iconic architectural and landscape beauties of pre-integration Rome,” with three garages, Caravaggio, two thatched roofs and “great gardens with plantations and tall trees, walkways, stairs and rest areas.”
The American princess, who was married to former US Congressman John Janet, Jr., contemplates leaving her home of nearly 20 years. When she married Boncompagni Ludovisi in 2009, the villa was dilapidated, and her new husband only used it as an office.
“I really started trying to restore it as much as possible,” Mrs Boncompagni Ludovisi said during a tour of the property on Tuesday. “Actually, you need to be a millionaire, not a millionaire. If you have a house like that, you need to be a billionaire, because you want to make everything right. You don’t want to do anything wrong.”
In 2010, the couple decided to open the villa to the public for tour groups and dinners to help fund continued maintenance and renovations. In addition to a Caravaggio terrace and lush outdoor gardens, the 2,800-square-metre (30,000-sq-ft) home, Via Veneto is set off from the amenities graffiti by Guercino. It is also – as Mrs. Boncompagni Ludovisi likes to note – that over the centuries there was a long line of visitors, including American-British writer Henry James and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
“After a while, you think you get used to it. But I never did,” she says.
Caravaggio was commissioned in 1597 by a diplomat and patron of the arts, who asked the young painter to decorate the ceiling of a small room that he used as an alchemy workshop. The 2.75 m (nine feet) wide mural, which depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, is unusual: it is not a mural, but oil on plaster, and represents the only ceiling mural known to have been made by Caravaggio. goes.
“It is a rare image on the one hand, and of great value on the other, because it is made by an outstanding artist,” said Claudio Strinati, art historian and Caravaggio expert. “The choice of oil-on-wall technique probably stems from the fact that Caravaggio was not technically fluent in painting graffiti.”
Mrs Boncompagni Ludovisi hopes that eventually the Italian government will take over the villa so that it can remain in the public domain. As a historic site protected by the Ministry of Culture, Italy may try to match the highest bid in action.
For now, she is enjoying her last moments with the treasure.
“Sometimes I go over there and I take my yoga mat and I do my yoga under the Caravaggio, because it’s so relaxing,” she said. “And now, knowing I’m leaving, I treasure every moment, every moment I think about when the auction will take place.”
,