Villa Falconieri
The Villa Falconieri is a villa in Frascati, Italy.
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, dating back to 1546. In 1628 Orazio Falconieri purchased the villa and commissioned Francesco Borromini to oversee its renovation. His aim was for him and his brother, Cardinal Lelio Falconieri, to be buried there[1]
Important architects worked on the design such as Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and Borromini. The interior houses frescoes by Pier Leone Ghezzi, Giacinto Calandrucci, Ciro Ferri, Niccolò Berrettoni, and others. The park is a splendid Italian garden enlarged in the 17th century, with a small lake bordered by cypresses created in the 18th century.[citation needed]
Modern history
The German writer Richard Voss lived here for 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 this reason, Villa Falconieri was always dear to the German community of Rome.[2]
In 1905, the Villa was bought by the German banker Ernst von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy of Berlin, a nephew of the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. In 1907, he gave it as a gift to emperor Wilhelm II. On April 6, 1911 the Crown Prince William and Princess Cecilie visited the villa and decided on some restorations. [citation needed]
In 1921, the Villa was expropriated by Italian State. Villa Falconieri was damaged by US bombing during World War II while being used as the headquarters of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, but masterly work restored its previous splendor.[citation needed]
Modern use
Since 2016, Villa Falconieri has been the headquarters of the Accademia Vivarium Novum 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.[3]
References
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religious buildings
- Santa Lucia in Selci (restoration, 1638–1639; decoration of the Trinity Chapel, 1628–1639)
- San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (ground break, 1638; dedication, 1646; works continued afterwards)
- Oratorio dei Filippini (1637–1651)
- Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori, Rome (1643–1655)
- Sant'Agnese in Agone (involvement, 1653–1657)
- San Giovanni in Oleo (remodelling, 1658)
- Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (1642–1660)
- Sant'Andrea delle Fratte (project and direction, 1653–1667; continued by Mattia de Rossi)
- Palazzo Barberini (co-autorship with Carlo Maderna and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1627–1633)
- Villa Falconieri (expansion commissioned, 1628)
- Palazzo Spada (remodelling, 1632)
- Palazzo Falconieri (remodelling, 1646, façade and loggia)
- Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome (worked in the 1650s; co-autorship with Giovanni Fontana and Domenico Fontana)
- Palazzo di Propaganda Fide (1644–1667; co-autorship with Gian Lorenzo Bernini, involved in 1620s–1644)
- Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (renovation of the interior)
- St. Peter's Baldachin (possible collaboration with Gian Lorenzo Bernini)
- St. Peter's Basilica (gates of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and possibly parts of baldachin)
- San Giovanni dei Fiorentini (choir project)
- Santi Apostoli, Naples (Filomarino Family Chapel design, 1646)
- Santa Maria alla Porta, Milan (portal and tympanum)
- Baroque architecture
- Carlo Maderno (collaborator)
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini (collaborator)
- La Sapienza (2015 film)
41°48′26″N 12°41′22″E / 41.8072139°N 12.6895417°E / 41.8072139; 12.6895417