The Villa Imperiale of Pesaro is a suburban palatial house outside of Pesaro, built and decorated by artists of the late-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

period. It is now a private residence but the frescoed rooms and elaborate gardens are available for touring.

History

A castle at the site was supposedly built starting in 1452 by Alessandro Sforza while he was visited by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. Construction continued until 1469. After various disputes, in 1521 Pesaro was conquered by

Francesco Maria I Della Rovere Francesco Maria I della Rovere (25 March 1490 – 20 October 1538) was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 to 1516 and, after retaking the throne from Lorenzo II de' Medici, from 1521 to 1538. Biography He was born ...

. He commissioned the painter and architect

Girolamo Genga Girolamo Genga (c. 1476 – 11 July 1551) was an Italian Painting, painter and architect of the late Renaissance, Mannerism, Mannerist style. Life and career Genga was born in a region near Urbino. According mainly to Giorgio Vasari's biogr ...

to transform (1523-1538) the castle into an elegant ''Villa di Delizia''. His wife, Eleonora Gonzaga later commissioned further refurbishment by Pietro Bembo, including completing the ''cortile d’onore'' (courtyard of honor). In 1635, the villa became part of the Medici with the marriage of Ferdinando II with Vittoria della Rovere. Falling into disrepair, in 1763, the custody of the villa went to the Camera Apostolica of the Catholic church. In 1777 it was ceded by Pope Pius VI to Prince Orazio Albani, brother of the former pope Pope Clement XI, and father of cardinal

Alessandro Albani Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, but should be best remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann ...

. In the 19th century, many of the frescoes were restored by Giuseppe Gennari. Much of this work was removed during the restorations in the 1970s.Villa Imperiale Pesaro
official website. The property includes terraced and intricate Renaissance style gardens. The interior frescoes employed a number of major

painters including Dosso and

Battista Dossi Battista Dossi (ca. 1490–1548), also known as Battista de Luteri, was an Italian painter who belonged to the Ferrara School of Painting. He spent nearly his entire career in service of the Court of Ferrara, where he worked with his older ...

; Camillo Mantovano;

Raffaellino del Colle Raffaellino del Colle (1490–1566) was an Italian Mannerist painter active mostly in Umbria. He was born in the frazione of Colle in Borgo Sansepolcro, province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. Biography He is also called ''Raffaellino della Colle'' ...

; Bronzino; and Francesco Menzocchi. Topics include the '' Labors of Hercules'', ''Story of the Rovere family'', ''Hall of Calumny'', and caryatids, amorini, and other decorations. On April 5, 2019
a presentation at the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Pesaro
described the project of cataloguing and digitizing a unique collection of documents belonging to Pope Clement XI. These had been housed in eight large zinc chests at the Albani Palace in Urbino until its sale in 1915; at that time the chests were transferred to the Villa Imperiale. Of particular interest are the Pope's private documents and a collection of 23 music books for lute and other instruments, such as harpsichord and viola da gamba. The music is mostly by composers of the Roman circle, from between 1576 and 1653. Other unique items include scientific books and texts covering various fields of knowledge collected from the Late Renaissance until the 1700s.

References

Villas in Italy Buildings and structures in Pesaro Italian Renaissance gardens Renaissance architecture in le Marche {{Italy-stub