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Villa Vecchia

1560 establishments in ItalyBuildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Rome CapitalItalian building and structure stubsVillas in Lazio
Villa Vecchia seventeenth century print of Matteo Greuter 1620 img072
Villa Vecchia seventeenth century print of Matteo Greuter 1620 img072

Villa Vecchia is a patrician villa near Frascati, Italy, in the territory of the commune of Monte Porzio Catone. In the villa's garden there is a long stretch of a well kept Roman road. It was founded in 1560 by the cardinal Giovanni Ricci of Montepulciano. Frascati is known for many such villas, such as the famous Villa Mondragone. In 1562 the villa sold to the Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese, it was the first residence in Frascati by the Farnese family, with the name Villa Tusculana, and was restored by Vignola for the occasion. Pope Gregory XIII sometimes used it as summer residence. The villa was damaged by air attacks in the Second World War (1943–1944) because it was used as German military depot. The villa now houses a hotel and restaurant.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Villa Vecchia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.8137806 ° E 12.6934833 °
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Address

Villa Vecchia

Via Frascati 49
00078
Lazio, Italy
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Phone number

call+390687726330

Website
lh-villavecchia.com

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Villa Vecchia seventeenth century print of Matteo Greuter 1620 img072
Villa Vecchia seventeenth century print of Matteo Greuter 1620 img072
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Villa Mondragone
Villa Mondragone

Villa Mondragone is a patrician villa originally in the territory of the Italian comune of Frascati (Latium, central Italy), now in the territory of Monte Porzio Catone (Alban Hills). It lies on a hill 416m above sea-level, in an area called, from its many castles and villas, Castelli Romani about 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rome, near the ancient town of Tusculum. Construction began in 1573 by Cardinal Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps, who commissioned the design for it and for the Palazzo Altemps in central Rome from Martino Longhi the Elder, on the site of the remains of a Roman villa of the consular family of the Quinctilii. Pope Gregory XIII, whose heraldic dragon led to calling the villa "Mondragone", used the villa regularly as a summer residence, as guest of Cardinal Altemps. It was at the Villa Mondragone that in 1582, Gregory promulgated the document (the papal bull "Inter gravissimas") which initiated the reform of the calendar now in use and known as the Gregorian calendar.Villa Mondragone was at its maximum splendour during the epoch of the Borghese family (including Cardinal Scipione Borghese and Pope Paul V), who exhibited parts of their art and antiquities collections there (including the Antinous Mondragone which derives its name from the villa). Other popes who passed long periods in Villa Mondragone include Clement VIII and Paul V. In 1620, the owners of the villa bequeathed the Mondragone library to the Vatican library.Starting from 1626, Pope Urban VIII decided to leave Villa Mondragone in favour of the Papal residence of Castelgandolfo. In 1858 George Sand was guest in the villa, and found there a suitable atmosphere for the setting of her novel La Daniella. In 1865 the Jesuits turned it into a college, the Nobile Collegio Mondragone, for young aristocrats, which operated until 1953.During the Second World War the college was also used as a shelter for evacuees. In 1981 it was sold by the Order of the Jesuits to the University, where as of modern times, the Villa remains a peripheral seat of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. In 1912 Wilfrid Michael Voynich acquired the famous Voynich manuscript from the Jesuits at the Villa Mondragone. The facility, in need of funds, was discreetly selling some of its holdings. Voynich purchased 30 manuscripts, one of which was later to be known as the Voynich manuscript, though the work itself purportedly dates to the early 15th century. There is, however, dissent among researchers as to its origin.

Villa Rufinella
Villa Rufinella

Villa Rufinella, also called Villa Tuscolana, is a villa in Frascati, Italy. Villa Rufinella is situated highest of the villas on the hill above the town of Frascati. It was built by Alessandro Ruffini, bishop of Melfi, in 1578, but during its history, the proprietors have made changes in different parts of it. In 1773 the villa became property of the pope. Architect Luigi Vanvitelli, commissioned by the Jesuits, gave the building its present appearance.In 1804 Pope Pius VII sold the Villa to prince Lucien Bonaparte during his self-imposed exile in Rome. Prince Lucien started the first excavations in the area of the villa and in the territory of Tusculum, sending many of the artifacts found to Paris to be sold on the antiques market. In 1817 a group of bandits of the famous band of robber Gasperoni, commanded by Tommaso Transerici, tried to kidnap the Prince Lucien during one of his parties in the gardens. Instead of the Prince, the bandits kidnapped one of his guests, an artist named Charles de Chatillôn, who softened the bandits by painting portraits of them during his captivity. The Prince was so annoyed by the attack that he sold the villa soon thereafter.In 1820 the villa was passed into the possession of Princess Maria Anna of Savoy. Queen Maria Christina of Naples and Sicily, wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia, inherited the villa bequeathed to the Princess Maria Anna, and lived there for long periods until 1843. In 1834, to commemorate his stay as a guest in the villa, Italian poet Giuseppe Gioachino Belli wrote a sonnet in Roman dialect called "La Rufinella". After 1848 the Villa became the property of King Vittorio Emanuele II, who sold it to the Lancellotti family.The villa suffered heavy damage during World War II (1943–1944). Since 1966 the Villa Rufinella has been owned by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious society: they have restored the building and turned it into a conference hotel.

Villa Lancellotti
Villa Lancellotti

Villa Lancellotti is a villa in Frascati, Italy, the nearest to the town centre. This villa was constructed in 1582 by Cardinal Bonanni. It was sold in 1617 to the banker Roberto Primo who constructed the 'teatro d'acqua' (water theatre) at the far end of the garden. The theatre is a direct copy of that at the nearby Villa Mondragone, for whom Primo acted as a banker. The clock, or 'orologio' was added in the nineteenth century while the villa was in the ownership of the Lancellotti family. The villa was restored in 1730, by the new owner Prince Pietro Piccolomini. In 1840 the Villa, called Villa Piccolomini, was sold to Francis Mehlem of Bavaria. The villa was bought and restored in 1866 by Prince Filippo Massimo Lancellotti and his wife Princess Elisabetta Borghese Aldobrandini. King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia, lived here, and in October 1805 he received Pope Pius VII as a guest. In 1855 the famous writer George Sand rented the Villa Piccolomini from March 31 to April 19 and lived here with her son Maurice and her secretary Alexandre Manceau. The facade of the palace offers views of the garden from every floor, and panoramic views of Tuscolo hill. The inside contains rooms decorated with allegorical scenes of the countryside, older paintings by Ciro Ferri (1634–1689). The Italian garden encloses a nymphaeum from the 16th century. In the hall there is a mosaic in white and black tesseras found in Tuscolo hill, near the local Camaldolese monastery, in 1863. Statues found during the archeological excavation of Tusculum are the decoration of the Villa. A part of the gardens, now called "Ombrellino", today is a public park. Views of the garden facade of this villa can be had from Tuscolo's road. The villa is no longer open to the public.