Images in this gallery are of the imposing Villa Aldobrandini in the hill town of Frascati, located 21 kilometres from Rome and a popular place to retreat from Rome's heat and hustle on hot summer days.
The Villa Aldobrandini is the largest and most spectacular of the late Renaissance villas built in Frascati. It was designed by Giacomo della Porta and built by Carlo Maderno in 1598-1603 for Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini who was the nephew of Pope Clemente VII.
The...
more »Images in this gallery are of the imposing Villa Aldobrandini in the hill town of Frascati, located 21 kilometres from Rome and a popular place to retreat from Rome's heat and hustle on hot summer days.
The Villa Aldobrandini is the largest and most spectacular of the late Renaissance villas built in Frascati. It was designed by Giacomo della Porta and built by Carlo Maderno in 1598-1603 for Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini who was the nephew of Pope Clemente VII.
The elaborate fountain Teatro delle Acque (Water Theatre) is behind the palace in a vast courtyard. The semicircular amphitheatre is decorated and framed by a wall ornamented with Ionic pilasters and niches with statue figures from mythology. Its centrepiece is the fountain figure of Atlas supporting the globe, below him is the head of Tantalus, condemned to die from thirst for revealing secrets of the gods. In the side niches are sculptures of Polyphemus playing the pipes and the Centaur playing his once held horn.
The villa is still owned by the Aldobrandini family.
« less
