Villa Aurelia

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Villa Aurelia - American Academy in Rome

The Casino del Giardino Farnese is a villa on Monte Gianicolo in Rome.

Since its establishment by Cardinal Girolamo Farnese , it has changed name several times with its changing owners: after Villa Farnese, Villa Borbone, Villa Giraud, Villa Savorelli and Villa Heyland, it is now called Villa Aurelia and is the property and headquarters of the American Academy in Rome.

history

The "Casino Farnese" in Rome was built by Girolamo Farnese on the other side of the Tiber at the level of the Gianicolo on the old Aurelian city wall near the Porta San Pancrazio. The building site was family-owned vineyards. The house above one of the old city towers is believed to have been built between 1650, when Farnese became chamberlain and governor of Rome, and his appointment as cardinal in 1667 by Pope Alexander VII . The papal inspector and archivist Carlo Cartari wrote a detailed description of the property. The "simple dwelling of the elder Cardinal Farnese" cost 40,000 Scudi. From the windows of the large living room on the upper floor the view extended north to Saint Peter and straight down into the city. In front of the large salon there was a long, narrow gallery facing the Porta San Pancrazio. Cartari also described the decoration of the interiors, which were unfurnished and therefore richly painted. Carlo Cignani and Emilio Taruffi painted in the stucco surrounds on the walls, ceilings and in the vaults .

After the death of the last Duke of Parma in 1731, the property of the Farnese family fell to the Bourbons in Naples, but they did not use the house themselves. They rented the building to various dignitaries, in 1774 to Count Ferdinando Giraud. After his death there followed a protracted dispute between his heirs and the Bourbon family over the cost of renting and maintaining the property. In 1841 the Giraud family bought the villa for a small sum due to its dilapidation. In the same year, the Girauds sold the entire property to Alessandro Savorelli, the Count of Forlì. He ran a candle factory on the property.

During the French invasion of the Roman Republic in 1849 , the villa was used as the headquarters of General Giuseppe Garibaldi because of its advantageous location and was consequently heavily bombed. State compensation funded repairs to the structure, the repair of the south facade and the spiral staircase. After Savorelli's death in 1864, the villa got new owners. Eventually it fell to the Monte di Pietà , the Catholic credit institution.

American Academy in Rome

In 1885 Clara Jessup Heyland bought the villa. The American Academy in Rome inherited the property from her in 1909 and named it Villa Aurelia . At the same time, with the help of JP Morgan, Jr., she purchased a large piece of land near Porta San Pancrazio to expand the educational facility. In 1946 the academy began renovating work under its director, the art historian Laurance P. Roberts and the architect Bruno Zevi .

The Academy is now home to scholars and artists who have been awarded the Academy's Rome Prize. The award goes to outstanding scientific work on classical antiquity, medieval history, Italian studies, architecture, design, landscape architecture, monument preservation as well as contemporary artists, writers and composers.

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