VILLA MEDICI

Description

Essentials about the Villa Medici in brief

Villa Medici is one of the most visible buildings in Rome. The 16th-century palace sits atop the Pincian Hill and today houses the Académie de France à Rome, an institution dedicated to promoting young artists. Villa Medici is even better known, however, for its beautiful gardens. However, the villa and its garden can only be visited on guided tours.

The history of the Villa Medici

The grounds under the Roman commander Lukullus

In ancient times, the commander Lucullus, who had become rich from war booty, resided on the Pincian Hill. His luxurious lifestyle and especially his debauched banquets became proverbial. After the end of the Roman Empire, the palace complex fell into disrepair. In their place spread a vineyard.

The construction of Villa Medici

In the middle of the 16th century, a suburban villa was built on the property, which was supposed to combine the advantages of a city palace with those of a stately country house. However, the owners, the nephews of Cardinal Ricci, were not enthusiastic about the handsome residence. So in 1576 Cardinal Ferdinando de` Medici became the new owner of the property, which finally offered him the opportunity to properly house his extensive collection of antiquities. Also the beautiful gardens of the villa were now completed.

The takeover of the villa by the House of Habsburg-Lothringen

In the 17th century Villa Medici was no longer continuously inhabited. It served the Medici diplomats only as a summer residence in Rome and as a temporary abode for family members traveling through. In 1737 the male line of the Medici dynasty became extinct. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine took over the property and subsequently the Villa Medici lost large parts of its antiquities collection to museums in Florence.

The establishment of the Académie de France à Rome

It was not until the French Revolution that life returned to Villa Medici. Napoleon overthrew papal rule and occupied Rome in 1798. As early as 1666, a branch of the French Académie was founded in Rome by order of Louis XIV. In 1803, the Académie de France à Rome moved into the premises of the Villa Medici, where it is still based today. Young artists, composers and writers were to be given the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills under the special conditions of the Eternal City. In addition to looking after the scholarship holders, the Villa Medici enriches Rome’s cultural life through a wide range of activities.

The prerequisite for the scholarship, in addition to a study stay of several years, was the acquisition of the “Prix de Rome”. In this way, the crème de la crème of the French cultural scene became acquainted with the Villa Medici and the sheer limitless opportunities it offered them in the city on the Tiber. Scholarship holders were, for example, the world-famous composers George Bizet, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Hector Berlioz.

The gardens of the Villa Medici

Of particular beauty are the gardens of Villa Medici. They still correspond in their layout to the original grounds, only the planting dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. In the shade of the pines, faithful reproductions of ancient statues, myrtles and box trees line the geometrically laid out avenues. A small orchard nestles against the enclosing wall, the obelisk fountain bubbles in the face of the loggia, and the small hill called “Parnassus” on the ruins of the ancient temple of Fortuna has become a viewing terrace.

The legendary Marquis de Sade has a tip for visitors to the gardens. In 1775 he noted: “Since the garden is very secluded, it is an excellent meeting place for enflamed lovers. Agreements develop and dissolve here; and I don’t know if it doesn’t sometimes happen that they are brought to completion. The only certainty is that one would be completely undisturbed here.” If there were not the problem that today the garden is no longer open to the public as it was in the days of the Marquis, but, like the palace, can only be visited on guided tours.