The ''Villa Strohl Fern'' is a semi-urban

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

-style, palace, or casino, and gardens erected in the late 19th century on the grounds of the

Villa Borghese Villa Borghese or Villa Borghese Pinciana ('Borghese family{{!Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill') is the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio (and, after his death, finished by his assistant Giovanni Vasanzio), developing sketches by Scip ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It is known for having housed and provided studios for dozens of prominent artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Entrances to the site, when open, are from

Piazzale Flaminio Piazzale Flaminio is a square in Rome (Italy) and the starting point of the Via Flaminia. It divides the Flaminio (Rome), Flaminio and the Pinciano quarters. Description The square extends just outside the Aurelian Walls. Porta del Popolo, on i ...

, Avenue Madame Letizia, and across from the Villa Poniatowski, part of the

National Etruscan Museum The National Etruscan Museum ( it, Museo Nazionale Etrusco) is a museum of the Etruscan civilization, housed in the Villa Giulia in Rome, Italy. History The villa was built for Pope Julius III, for whom it was named. It remained in papal prope ...

History

The aristocratic Alsatian Alfred Wilhelm Strohl (1847-1927) was exiled from his native land soon after the German occupation in 1870. By 1879, he had purchased a substantial plot of land at the site, and built the main villa, and additional housing and studio facilities, and organized the gardens at the site. Strohl also designed the casino and gave it the name by adding the adjective "fern" (far away) to Strohl, to emphasize his exile. The park contains odd elements such as cement trees, fountains adorned with stalactites, grottoes, covered bridges between sections of land at different levels, and an artificial pond with a cement boat on its bank. The property is best remembered for the diverse artistic community that Strohl gathered there, at small chalets in the park. Among the many artists who stayed at the site were Nicola D’Antino;

Bruno Barilli Bruno Barilli (14 December 188015 April 1952) was an Italian actor and music composer, and best remembered for his writings on music and music composition. Biography He was born in Fano in the region of Marche, Italy, but studied musical compos ...

;

Alfredo Biagini Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Fi ...

;

Amedeo Bocchi Amedeo Bocchi (August 24, 1883 – December 16, 1976) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Rome. Biography He was born in Parma to a father who worked in painting wall decorations. At the age of 12 years, he was enrolled in the Royal Instit ...

;

Arnold Bocklin Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

;

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; Renato Brozzi;

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; Emil Fuchs and his mistress, the painter Barbara Leoni; Vincenzo Gemito; Baldomer Gili i Roig;

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; Virgilio Guidi;

Carlo Levi Carlo Levi () (29 November 1902 – 4 January 1975) was an Italian painter, writer, activist, communist, and doctor. He is best known for his book '' Cristo si è fermato a Eboli'' (''Christ Stopped at Eboli''), published in 1945, a memoir of ...

;

Arturo Martini Arturo Martini (1889–1947) was a leading Italian sculptor between World War I and II. He moved between a very vigorous (almost ancient Roman) classicism and modernism. He was associated with public sculpture in fascist Italy, but later renounc ...

; Umberto Moggioli; Ludwig Nick; Cipriano Efisio Oppo;

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

; the poet

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and his wife in 1903-1904; the sculptor

Clara Westhoff Clara Westhoff (21 September 1878 in Bremen – 9 March 1954 in Fischerhude), also known as ''Clara Rilke'' or ''Clara Rilke-Westhoff'' was a pioneer German sculptor and artist. She was the wife of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Early life At 17, W ...

; Aleardo Terzi;

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

and his son Antonello Trombadori; and Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel. After his death in 1927, Strohl was buried in the Protestant Cemetery, near the Pyramid of Cestius; and the property was willed to the French Government with a number of restrictions, including on the maintenance of the structures and purpose. In 1957 transferred it to the Lycée Chateaubriand. The property has been undergoing much needed restorations. On specific occasions, you can visit the gardens (about 80,000 m²).For more information, see ''Artisti a Villa Strohl-Fern. Luogo d'arte e di incontri a Roma tra il 1880 e il 1956.''Exhibition catalogue about Villa Strohl-Fern Artists. (21/03 - 17/06/2012 at Museii di Villa Torlonia. Editor Cangemi; Curator Giovanna Caterina De Feo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strohl Fern Villas in Rome Gardens in Rome Gothic Revival architecture in Italy