1. Casino Ludovisi Rome
2. Casino Ludovisi Roma Visite
3. Casino Villa Ludovisi Roma
4. Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi Rome

1. Located in one of Rome's most elegant neighborhoods, Ludovisi Luxury Rooms is 5 minutes' walk from Villa Borghese Park. Set in a 19th-century building, it offers air-conditioned rooms and suites. Accommodations at Ludovisi Luxury comes with a mini-bar and a flat-screen TV. Wi-Fi access is available in the whole building.
2. Hello, I am visiting Rome on July 19th-22nd 2018 and I would like to visit Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi and frescoes by Guercino and Caravaggio. I have contacted the Casino and they have told me that they are open to the public by reservation for groups minimum of 15 people and the cost is € 20.00 per person. (Input minimum € 300.00).

The Villa Ludovisi was a suburban villa in Rome, built in the 17th century on the area once occupied by the Gardens of Sallust (Horti Sallustiani) near the Porta Salaria. On an assemblage of vineyards purchased from Giovanni Antonio Orsini, Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte and others, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi erected in the 1620s the main villa building to designs by Domenichino; it was. Casino Ludovisi, a delightful treasure in the center of Rome When I stroll through the centro storico in Rome, its streets filled with ancient palazzi and their huge wooden doors, I like to think about what’s behind the doors, and who owns and lives in these frescoed buildings. This is a very unique tour, either if you are a first time visitor or you came to Rome many times. The Casino of Aurora is what's left of Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, house of Pope Gregory XV, which in the 1500's was called the villa which had the most beautiful gardens in the world.

The Casino dell'Aurora is the only portion spared from nineteenth-century demolition of the Villa Ludovisi (later Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi) in Rome. Originally the Casino, erected around 1570 and enlarged in the nineteenth century, was a three-story structure on a cruciform ground plan. During the pontificate of Pope Gregory XV Ludovisi the villa and its casino were used mainly for official functions such as dinners for the college of cardinals. The Casino was decorated by paintings on the ground floor and the second floor in the seventeenth century.

The ceiling of the central room on the ground floor was painted by Guercino depicting Aurora on Her Triumphal Chariot. This composition was a deliberate response to Guido Reni's Aurora in the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome. Guercino's coworker was Agostino Tassi who was responsible for the architecture (quadratura) painted in fresco technique. (Guercino painted in tempera instead of fresco.)

In the Stanza del Caminetto, a room adjacent to the central room, the centre of the ceiling shows a wreath of putti, the documented work by Antonio Circignani, called il Pomarancio (1560-1620). It is framed by four landscape pictures painted by Paul Bril, Giovanni Battista Viola, Domenichino, and Guercino. These were produced in a kind of competition between the four painters.

The ceiling painting in the former library on the ground floor, painted by Giovanni Luigi Valesio, depicts crowds of putti with intertwining bands whose isolated letters produce Cardinal Ludovisi's name and title.

The ceiling painting in the Sala della Fama, the central hall on the second floor, is entirely allegorical. The central picture is designed as a fictive opening with only a few figures. In the centre hovers the personification of Fame in billowing robes, holding in her outstretched hands an extremely long trumpet and an olive branch as a symbol of peace. In the lower part of the picture space personifications of Honour (Honos) and Virtue (Virtus) are seated on a dark gray cloud.

A tiny and very low room on the second floor, a space that the owner Ludovico Ludovisi used as a 'studiolo,' contains the only wall painting by Caravaggio.

In its combination of heraldic and allegorical elements, the pictorial program in the Casino dell'Aurora anticipates the pictorial idiom later perfected by Pietro da Cortona in the Palazzo Barberini.

I might be an American in Rome, but there is actually an American princess in Rome and she lives at Villa Ludovisi. Sometimes known as Villa Aurora, the palatial dwelling is hidden behind Via Veneto and is the real-life home of HSH Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi. She has the distinct honor of living with the only fresco Caravaggio ever painted.

Now, let’s be clear: there is no longer a recognized royal family in Italy. However, the Ludovisis were royalty. The princess is originally from Texas, but she gained her titled when she married HSH Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi in 2009.

Casino Ludovisi Rome

The Texan was previously known as Rita Jenrette, and was once married to U.S. Representative Jon Jenrette. However, her third husband was the reason she moved to Rome. She met him when she worked in real estate and was showing off one of his Italian properties to a client interested in building a hotel.

Prince Ludovisi’s title comes from Piombino – a state that his family once ruled until it was abolished by Napoleon. Their holdings have now been reduced to 7 acres of gardens and the lovely Villa Aurora, which is filled with priceless artwork.

The Ludovisis are related to Pope Gregory XV. They went on to become nobility thanks to their close Papal connections. Their property once covered most of this side of Rome, near Villa Borghese and the Spanish Steps. But it was sold off and subdivided to create the exclusive neighborhood around Via Veneto.

Caravaggio Fresco

Villa Aurora inside Villa Ludovisi takes its name from a fresco of the same title by Guercino. However, Villa Aurora is best known for having the only Caravaggio fresco in existence. Caravaggio is famous for his moody portraits with incredible lighting but these were all painted on canvas. This image is painting directly onto the ceiling, so it can never be moved outside of Villa Aurora.

The work was commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, who contracted Caravaggio to paint the three gods Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune on the plaster ceiling of his alchemy lab.

While this is Caravaggio’s only fresco, art lovers will be able to tell you that it is not technically a fresco. Fresco is Italian for “fresh” because a true fresco is painted onto fresh plaster that has never been allowed to dry. This, however, was painted by Caravaggio using oil paints, directly onto the dried plaster of the villa’s ceiling.

Every figure in the painting has Caravaggio’s own features and all three are considered to be self-portraits. Except for the dog – but the dog is modeled on Caravaggio’s own canine companion.

This priceless artwork was not to everyone’s taste. At some point in history, the fresco was whitewashed over. This might have something to do with the full frontal male nudity that Caravaggio included here.

Luckily, it was rediscovered in the 1960s. It is located in a small hallway (or anteroom) and takes up most of the ceiling in the narrow space. The Princess mentioned that she now uses the area when she does yoga. (What an incredible place to work out, no?)

How to Visit Villa Aurora

It is humbling to visit the Ludovisi Villa. There are lots of masterpieces to be seen in Rome, but it is rare that you are invited into someone’s home to see a masterpiece in such an intimate setting.

There are works by Guercino and Caravaggio, but also family photos dotting side tables and mixed in with the period furniture.

The villa was first built as hunting lodge in 1570 and now takes up a cool 32,000 square feet on some of the most valuable real estate in Rome. If you visit Villa Aurora, you will be given a tour of some of the front rooms on the ground floor, take a quick peek at the gardens, and then head upstairs to see the Caravaggio fresco and another room that is still being renovated.

It is only possible to visit Villa Aurora with a pre-arranged private tour that the princess will lead herself. This is because this is still the Ludovisi family’s home.

The cost is €300 for a private tour which lasts about 1.5 hours. For that fee, up to 15 people can visit (€20/person). It is worth it to get a group of like-minded friends together to explore the villa because it is your only chance to ever see a Caravaggio fresco. You can also spring that much for a smaller group, or a truly private tour.

Casino Ludovisi Roma Visite

To book a tour of Villa Aurora, you must contact tatiana@principedipiombino.com or call +39 06 483942 (lun, mer, ven 9-13).

Casino Villa Ludovisi Roma

You might be lucky enough to be surprised by the chance to see their archives at the end of the tour. If you don’t get to see the letters from Marie Antoinette (!!) in person, you can browse the Ludovisi digital archives here.

Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi Rome

There are other ways to see Caravaggio painting in Rome even if you are not able to arrange a visit to Villa Aurora. One of my favorites hangs in a church in Piazza del Popolo, and there are several famous paintings at Palazzo Barberini. However, it is worth effort to meet the princess and see her one-of-a-kind Caravaggio fresco.