ART news

Italy's real estate and art worlds are all a flutter over the news that the Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, known as Villa Aurora, is on the market for almost half a billion euro. The sumptuous villa, hidden by high walls near Via Veneto, has been owned by the noble Ludovisi family since the 16th century. The historic property on Via Lombardia is all that remains of Villa Ludovisi, a country retreat established by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, which was sold off by the Ludovisi family during Rome's construction boom in the late 19th century. The building, originally the Ludovisi hunting lodge, is also home to numerous rooms frescoed by Guercino, not to mention the only known ceiling painting by Michelangelo Merisi, better known to the world as Caravaggio. The mural, sometimes referred to incorrectly as a fresco, dates to 1597 and was commissioned by Cardinal Del Monte, a diplomat and generous patron of the arts. Painted in oils on plaster, the work measures just 2.75 metres wide and features Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto in an allegorical scene reflecting the cardinal's fascination with alchemy. Jupiter, accompanied by an eagle, represents sulphur and air; Neptune, with a hippocamp, stands for mercury and water; and Pluto, with the threeheaded dog Cerberus, represents salt and earth. Jupiter is depicted reaching out to move the celestial sphere in which the sun revolves around the earth. These treasures by Caravaggio and Guercino, along with a selection of ancient statues, will contribute to its €471 million value when the Casino dell'Aurora is put up for auction on 18 January. Whoever purchases the 2,800-sqm property, protected under Italian cultural heritage laws, would also be required to spend around €11 million on restoration costs, which have been deducted from the auction value, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica. The sale is reportedly the result of a protracted inheritance dispute following the death in 2018 of the property's owner Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi. The big question now is will the state step in to purchase this unique property or will it go to private owners who want to have a Caravaggio over their heads.

Caravaggio's only ceiling painting

One of Rome's greatest treasures – the Cornaro Chapel with its sculptural masterpiece by Baroque genius Gian Lorenzo Bernini – has been returned to its dazzling glory following an extensive restoration. The chapel, part of the S. Maria della Vittoria church on Via XX Settembre, contains one of Bernini's greatest sculptures: the Ecstasy of St Teresa, a favourite of visitors to Rome as well as the artist who described it modestly as his "least bad" work.

The restoration process, carried out by the superintendency of Rome, included studies of the 17th-century marble statue which depicts the mystical experience of St Teresa of Avila. In the dramatic scene the saint lies on a cloud in religious ecstasy after encountering an angel. The figures are surrounded by gilded stucco rays, with the sculpture's beauty accentuated by sunlight streaming through a window hidden in the aedicule, or shrine. In February 2020 Rome restored the Albertoni Chapel, including Bernini's sculpture of Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, at the church of S. Francesco a Ripa in the Trastevere area.

The Cornaro Chapel dazzles once again