Villa Ludovisi
Encyclopedia
The Villa Ludovisi was a suburban villa
in Rome
, built in the 17th century on the area once occupied by the Gardens of Sallust (Horti Sallustiani)
near the Porta Salaria
. On an assemblage of vineyards purchased from Giovanni Antonio Orsini, Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte
and others, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi erected in the 1620s the main villa building to designs by Domenichino within thirty months, in part to house his collection of Roman antiquities, additions to which were unearthed during construction at the site, which had figured among the great patrician pleasure grounds of Roman times. Modern works, most famously Gian Lorenzo Bernini
's Pluto and Persephone, were also represented. The engraving of the grounds by Giovanni Battista Falda (1683) shows a short access avenue from a tree-lined exedra
in via di Porta Pinciana and cypress-lined avenue
s centered on each of the facades of the main villa, laid out through open fields, the main approaches to both the villa and the Casino dell'Aurora
converging on gates in the Aurelian Walls
, which formed the northern bounds of the park; symmetrical parterre
s of conventional form including bosquet
s peopled with statuary flanked the main avenue of the Casina, and there was an isolated sunken parterre, though these features were not integrated in a unified overall plan. The overgrown avenues contrasting with the dramatic Roman walls inspired Stendal
to declare in 1828 that the Villa Ludovisi's gardens were among the most beautiful in the world.
Frescoes in the villa were carried out by Domenichino, Guercino, Alessandro Algardi, Giovambattista Viola, and others. A casina
was added, largely to house the Cardinal's growing collection of Roman sculptures and inscriptions.
The villa passed to the ownership of the Boncompagni
Ludovisi
family, which in 1872 rented it to King Victor Emmanuel II. The King used the villa as residence for his lover, Rosa Vercellana.
İn 1885, despite great protests among the intellectuals, its last owner, Don Rodolfo Boncompagni Ludovisi, Prince of Piombino, sold the property to the Società Generale Immobiliare; it was divided into building lots. The sculptures were dispersed, and most of the buildings destroyed, the only one to remain being the Casino dell'Aurora. The Via Veneto was driven through its grounds, part of which are occupied by the American Embassy in Palazzo Margherita
, and the Rione Ludovisi
took shape, borrowing its district name from the cardinal and his villa.
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, built in the 17th century on the area once occupied by the Gardens of Sallust (Horti Sallustiani)
Gardens of Sallust
The Gardens of Sallust were Roman gardens developed by the Roman historian Sallust in the 1st century BC. The landscaped pleasure gardens occupied a large area in the northwestern sector of Rome, in what would become Region VI, between the Pincian and Quirinal hills, near the Via Salaria and later...
near the Porta Salaria
Porta Salaria
Porta Salaria was a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy, demolished in 1921.-History:Porta Salaria was part of the Aurelian Walls built by emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century, including pre-existing constructions in order to hasten the works. Under it passed the Via Salaria nova, which joined...
. On an assemblage of vineyards purchased from Giovanni Antonio Orsini, Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte
Francesco Maria Del Monte
Francesco Maria Del Monte, full name Francesco Maria Bourbon Del Monte Santa Maria, was an Italian Cardinal, diplomat and connoisseur of the arts...
and others, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi erected in the 1620s the main villa building to designs by Domenichino within thirty months, in part to house his collection of Roman antiquities, additions to which were unearthed during construction at the site, which had figured among the great patrician pleasure grounds of Roman times. Modern works, most famously Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
's Pluto and Persephone, were also represented. The engraving of the grounds by Giovanni Battista Falda (1683) shows a short access avenue from a tree-lined exedra
Exedra
In architecture, an exedra is a semicircular recess or plinth, often crowned by a semi-dome, which is sometimes set into a building's facade. The original Greek sense was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for a philosophical...
in via di Porta Pinciana and cypress-lined avenue
Avenue
Avenue may refer to:* Avenue , a specialist term in archaeology referring to lines of stones* Avenue , X-Factor UK contestants* Avenue , a straight route with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side...
s centered on each of the facades of the main villa, laid out through open fields, the main approaches to both the villa and the Casino dell'Aurora
Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi
The Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi is a villa in Porta Pinciana, Rome, Italy. Measuring 2.200 square meters, it is all that remains of a country retreat, best known as Villa Ludovisi, established in the 16th century by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte...
converging on gates in the Aurelian Walls
Aurelian Walls
The Aurelian Walls is a line of city walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus....
, which formed the northern bounds of the park; symmetrical parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s of conventional form including bosquet
Bosquet
In the French formal garden, a bosquet is a formal plantation of trees, at least five of identical species planted as a quincunx, or set in strict regularity as to rank and file, so that the trunks line up as one passes along either face...
s peopled with statuary flanked the main avenue of the Casina, and there was an isolated sunken parterre, though these features were not integrated in a unified overall plan. The overgrown avenues contrasting with the dramatic Roman walls inspired Stendal
Stendal
Stendal is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of Stendal District and unofficial capital of the Altmark. Its population in 2001 was 38,900. It is located some west of Berlin and around east of Hanover...
to declare in 1828 that the Villa Ludovisi's gardens were among the most beautiful in the world.
Frescoes in the villa were carried out by Domenichino, Guercino, Alessandro Algardi, Giovambattista Viola, and others. A casina
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
was added, largely to house the Cardinal's growing collection of Roman sculptures and inscriptions.
Boncompagni
The Boncompagni is an Italian noble family from Assisi.-History:The family is documented for the first time in 1133, when one Rodolfo Boncompagni, a German nobleman of Saxon origins, was appointed by Lothair II as lord of Assisi...
Ludovisi
Ludovisi
Ludovisi can refer to:*Ludovisi , a noble Italian family*Ludovisi, Lazio, a rione in the City of Rome* Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, prince of Venosa and proprietor of Latium wine estate Fiorano...
family, which in 1872 rented it to King Victor Emmanuel II. The King used the villa as residence for his lover, Rosa Vercellana.
İn 1885, despite great protests among the intellectuals, its last owner, Don Rodolfo Boncompagni Ludovisi, Prince of Piombino, sold the property to the Società Generale Immobiliare; it was divided into building lots. The sculptures were dispersed, and most of the buildings destroyed, the only one to remain being the Casino dell'Aurora. The Via Veneto was driven through its grounds, part of which are occupied by the American Embassy in Palazzo Margherita
Palazzo Margherita
Palazzo Margherita, or palazzo Piombino, is a palazzo on Via Veneto in Rome. It was built from 1886 to 1890 by Gaetano Koch for prince Rodolfo Boncompagni Ludovisi, prince of Piombino, on a now-vanished portion of the Villa Ludovisi...
, and the Rione Ludovisi
Ludovisi (rione of Rome)
Ludovisi is the XVI rione of Rome. Its coat of arms has three golden bands and a golden dragon, everything on a red background. It is the coat of arms of the noble Ludovisi family, which here owned the beautiful villa bearing the same name...
took shape, borrowing its district name from the cardinal and his villa.