The Villa Falconieri is a villa in

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 with ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

The villa was originally called Villa Rufina, having been was initially built by Monsignor Alessandro Rufini. Later it was enlarged thanks to Pope

Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

, dates back to 1546. In 1628

Orazio Falconieri 300 px, The Villa Falconieri in Frascati; renovations were commissioned by Orazio Falconieri Orazio Falconieri (died 1664) was an Italian nobleman from Florence; he was the owner of the Villa Falconieri. His heraldic symbol was a falcon. Fam ...

purchased the villa and commissioned

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

to oversee its renovation. His aim was for him and his brother, Cardinal

Lelio Falconieri Lelio Falconieri (1585–1648) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. Family and early life Falconieri was born in 1585 in Florence, the tenth of the thirteen children of Paolo Falconieri and his second wife Maddalena degli Albizzi. He was the brothe ...

, to be buried there Important architects worked on the design such as

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger 250px, A model of the Apostolic Palace, which was the main project of Bramante during Sangallo's apprenticeship. 250px, The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the Rome.html"_;"title="Trajan's_Market_in_Rome">Trajan's_Market_in_Rome. image: ...

and Borromini. The interior houses frescoes by

Pier Leone Ghezzi Pier Leone Ghezzi (28 June 1674 – 6 March 1755) was an Italian Rococo painter and caricaturist active in Rome. Biography Ghezzi was born and died in Rome. He trained under his father, Giuseppe Ghezzi, who also trained Antonio Amorosi. ...

, Giacinto Calandrucci,

Ciro Ferri Ciro Ferri (1634 – 13 September 1689) was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona. He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresc ...

, Niccolò Berrettoni, and others. The park is a splendid Italian gardens enlarged in the 17th century, with small lake bordered by cypresses created in the 18th century.

Modern history

In 1905, the Villa was bought by the German baron Ernest Mendelsshon-Bartholdy of Berlin, who in 1907 gave it as a gift to emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

. On April 6, 1911 the Crown Prince William and Princess Cecilie visited the villa and decided on some restorations. Here the German writer

Richard Voss Richard Voss (2 September 1851 – 10 June 1918) was a German dramatist and novelist. In standard German orthography, his name is printed as Voß. Biography Voss was born at Neu-Grape near Pyritz, in Pomerania, the son of a country squire. Th ...

lived (25 years) and wrote several novels as ''Villa Falconieri'', ''Roman Fever'', ''The Son of Volsca'' and others; he called the Villa as "my shining house". For these reasons Villa Falconieri was always dear to the German community of Rome. In 1921, the Villa was expropriated by Italian State. Villa Falconieri was damaged by US bombing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while being used as the headquarters of Field Marshal

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...

, but masterly work restored its previous splendor.

Modern use

Since 2016, Villa Falconieri has been the headquarters of the

Accademia Vivarium Novum The Academy Vivarium Novum (or ''Accademia'' in Italian) in Rome is the only college in the world where students can spend one or more years immersed in Latin and Ancient Greek. These languages are spoken both in and outside of the classroom. Th ...

Latin academy, a cultural center of excellence that has entrusted the decoration of its rooms to an appreciated re-adaptation of classical symbolism, giving the Villa Falconieri an iconographic experience linked to the international vocation of this world campus of

Humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

. Gianni Marilottibr>''Valori e memoria, cominciamo da Palazzo Madama''
Il Manifesto, 27 April 2022.

References

{{Francesco Borromini Falconieri Francesco Borromini buildings Renaissance architecture in Lazio Houses completed in 1546 1546 establishments in the Papal States Gonzaga residences