Villa Torlonia

ローマ, イタリア

The concerts take place in the garden of the Casina delle Civette on the site of the Villa Torlonia. It is one of the most enchanting places in Rome, especially in the evening. The Villa Torlonia was built in 1748, thanks to Cardinal Alessandro Albani, in collaboration with the architect Carlo Marchionni. In 1866 it became property of Alessandro Torlonia who contributed to its embellishment. Villa Torlonia can be considered as the last of the great princely villas, because it was totally remade during the 19th century by Torlonia, a wealthy family of bankers, to compete with the properties of the ancient Roman noble families. It is difficult to describe the special atmosphere of this villa and its gardens. The villa is characterized by 13 constructions simulating mysterious, fantastic, fairy‐like creations: There are different houses for guests, a theatre and a lake. You do also find a false antic ruins, a temple of Saturn, camp of Tourney and a secret cave. The central decoration elements are two granite obelisks, which are an imitation of Egyptian obelisks. There are also two honorary columns and numerous statues. After 25 years of abandon (the Mussolini family lived here in 1929‐1943 paying a symbolic rent of one lira to the Torlonia), Villa Torlonia belongs now to the commune of Rome which opened it for public in 1977.