Failed auction
Villa in Rome with unique ceiling should be gone for at least 353 million – but no one wants it
“Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto” in the Villa Aurora in Rome is the only known ceiling painting by Caravaggio
© Riccardo Antimiani / Picture Alliance
The auction has failed. The Villa Aurora in Rome should go under the hammer for at least 353 million euros. But nobody wanted to offer that much. Now the price for the villa with the Caravaggio ceiling painting is to be reduced.
The property is huge, the location spectacular, the art unique. The Villa Aurora in Rome with its 2800 square meter area is elevated near the Via Veneto with a view over the old town. In addition to other works of art, it houses the only known ceiling painting by the early Baroque artist Caravaggio. “Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto” is said to have been created between 1597 and 1599 on behalf of Cardinal Francesco Maria Bourbon del Monte.
On Tuesday, the villa including the Caravaggio ceiling painting should go under the hammer. But nobody wanted her. At the auction of the property, no bid was received for the minimum price of a good 353 million euros, as announced on Tuesday evening. Now a new date for the 2800 square meter area should be found, writes the Ansa news agency.
Exterior view of the Villa Aurora in Rome
© Riccardo Antimiani / Picture Alliance
As “The Guardian” reports, the next auction will take place on April 7th with a price reduction of 20 percent. The British newspaper quotes Alessandro Zuccari, a history professor from Rome who oversaw the appraisal of the ceiling painting: “I’m not surprised that there were no bids.” Rather, he would have been amazed if a buyer had stood out. “The price is too high.” What would someone like Bill Gates do with Villa Aurora, especially with all the extra costs, Zuccari asks.
Villa in Rome was part of War of Inheritance
Known as Villa Aurora or Villa Ludovisi, the property has a turbulent history. Built almost 500 years ago as a hunting lodge, it was later expanded. As the “NZZ” writes, Stendhal and Goethe would also have strolled in the huge baroque park.
Most recently, Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi lived in the villa with his third wife. The “NZZ” writes that the fact that the Casino dell’Aurora has not crumbled is not least due to the enterprising princess from America. When she moved in, it rained through the roof, damaging some of the frescoes. The Italian state participated in the renovation.
Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi was born Rita Jenrette in Texas and has a colorful history herself, was a model, actress and in “Playboy” and now works in real estate. In 2009 she married Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi, Prince of Piombino. After he died in 2018, an inheritance war broke out between the widow and the children from the prince’s first marriage. A judge issued an order ordering the property to be auctioned. It should be worth 471 million euros.
Sources: “The Guardians”, “NZZ”, with material from the dpa