museum of
villa
torlonia - casino nobile
( Musei di Villa
Torlonia - Casino Nobile )
This
large building located in the Torlonia park has
ancient origins and has been transformed many times
over the course of time: the first conversion took
place in 1797 when the grounds were bought by
Giovanni Torlonia, a rich banker of French origin
who, upon acquiring a noble title, commissioned
Joseph Valadier to rebuild the Casino (lodge) along
more grandiose and elegant lines.
When the
Villa was
inherited by Alessandro, Giovanni Torlonia's
favorite son, it was enhanced with the addition of
new buildings in different styles, and the park was
turned into a verdant Englishstyle garden
containing several species of exotic plants.
It was
in this period, between 1835 and 1845, that the
Casino Nobile was transformed into a luxurious
villa, where parties and society events took place
and serried ranks of artists executed decorations in
fresco, tempera, stucco and false marble under the
direction of architect-painter Giovan Battista
Caretti, himself the author of grotesques in Gothic
or Pompeian styles.
The rooms were decorated with
precious furniture and ennobled with marble statues
and mosaic floors inspired by classical models.
Caretti was also responsible for the new alignment
of the facade of the Casino Nobile on Via Nomentana
and the execution of the two colonnaded wings and a
majestic porch in the Palladian style, its pediment
featuring the Triumph of Bacchus in terracotta, the
work of Rinaldo Rinaldi (pupil of Canova).
The most
impressive rooms include the large Ballroom with its
depiction of Parnassus by Francesco Coghetti, the
Room of Famous Men, the Egyptian Room, the Room of
Psyche and, in particular, the Room of Alexander
with its large frescoed vault and relief by Berthel
Thorvaldsen depicting the Triumph of Alexander in
Babylon.
In
1978, when the whole complex was bought by the
Municipality of Rome, the Casino Nobile was in a
state of total dilapidation. It has now been fully
restored and designated as the Museo di Villa
Torlonia, and it will contain furniture and
sculpture from the Torlonia collection.
The ground
floor will trace the history of the Casino Nobile
and the Torlonia complex from its origins to modern
times, when it used as the residence of Benito
Mussolini and his family between 1925 and 1943, and
down to its acquisition by the Municipality and
latest restoration.
On the third floor of the
building there will be a permanent exhibition of
the Roman School, with works by the most important
painters active in Rome between the 1920S and the
1960s.
Information and Addresses
Address Via Nomentana, 70
Visiting Hours Every day, from the last Sunday of
March to September 30 from 9.00 am to ].00 pm; from
March 1 to the last Saturday of March and from
October 1 to the last Saturday of October from 9.00
am to 5.30 pm; from the last Sunday of October to
February 28 from 9.00 am to 4.30 pm; Dec. 24 and 31
from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm
Closed Monday, Dec. 25, Jan. 1, May 1 Telephone 06
82059127
Price
€ 4,50; concessions € 2,50
For
Tours information
– private guided tours – special entrances, no waiting in
line - VIP services
www.tourinrome.com
www.vaticanmuseuminformation.com
www.vaticanmuseumticket.com
