The Villa Aldobrandini is a

villa A villa is a type of house that 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 s ...

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...

, Italy. It is still owned and lived in by the

Aldobrandini family The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican. History Their ...

, and known as Belvedere for its location overlooking the valley toward the city of Rome. It is the only grand Papal garden not owned by the state.

Construction

Vatican prelate Alessandro Rufini built the original villa in 1550.

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

gave his nephew Cardinal

Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts. Biography He was made a cardinal in 1593 by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII. He took over the duchy of Ferrara in 1598 when it fell to the P ...

the villa in 1598 as a reward for the negotiations he undertook with France that resulted in the peace treaty of 1595 and for his role in annexing Ferrara to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. Clement's gift also ensured the property remained in the family as Popes are not allowed to own property.

Conversion

Aldobrandini commissioned the Roman architect

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome. Biography Giacomo Della Porta was ...

to convert the villa into suitable accommodation in which a Cardinal could live and also entertain a Pope. Works started in 1598. While the core of the villa was completed by the time of Giacomo della Porta's death in 1603, work continued for another 20 years on the various aspects of the villa and the garden under the supervision of

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno (Maderna) (1556 – 30 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Vall ...

, who added the loggia, and Giovanni Fontana. The villa is aligned with the cathedral down its axial avenue that is continued through the town as Viale Catone. The villa has an imposing 17th century facade and some other interesting architectural and environmental features, such as the double gallery order on the rear facade, the spiral-shaped flights, the large exedra of the Water Theatre and a magnificent park.

Art

Inside the villa are paintings of

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

and Baroque artists like

Taddeo Zuccari Taddeo Zuccaro (or Zuccari) (1 September 15292 September 1566) was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school. Biography Zuccaro was born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino, the son of Ottaviano Zuccaro, ...

and his brother Federico,

Cavalier D'Arpino Giuseppe Cesari (14 February 1568 – 3 July 1640) was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino and called ''Cavaliere d'Arpino'', because he was created ''Cavaliere di Cristo'' by his patron Pope Clement VIII. He was much patroniz ...

and

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a sho ...

. On the grounds is a monumental gate by

Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri (13 April 1655 Rome - 11 February 1721 Rome) was an Italian architect. He worked in a Baroque and early Rococo style.Nina A. Mallory, ''Carlo Francesco Bizzacheri (1655-1721)'', in: Journal of the Society of Architectur ...

(early 18th century).

Water Theater

A noted feature of the garden is the Teatro delle Acque ("Water Theater") by Carlo Maderno and

Orazio Olivieri Orazio is a male given name of Italy, Italian origin, derived from the Latin language, Latin name (Roman naming conventions, ''nomen'') Horatius (disambiguation), Horatius, from the Roman gens (clan) Horatia gens, Horatia. People so named include: ...

. To provide water for this feature and for the rest of the garden, Aldobrandini constructed a new long aqueduct from the Modena spring on Monte Algido to the villa. The top of the garden in the villa has remained derelict and damaged since the American bombing during the Allied invasion in World War II, and the fountains of Teatro delle Acqua sustained damage as well from the bombing, with current owner Prince Camillo Aldobrandini's father carrying out repairs to the fountains shortly after. However, having used cement, the fountains were in a bad state when Prince Camillo began restoration works in 2011. Prince Camillo stated that

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, who was related to the Aldobrandini's through marriage, took statues that were all along the top of the balustrade of the Teatro and said he would pay Aldobrandini after coming back from Russia.Monty Don

Construction

Conversion

Art

Water Theater

References

Further reading