Villa Giustiniani Massimo, Historic villa near Lateran Square, Rome, Italy
Villa Giustiniani Massimo is a two-story building with a ground-floor loggia and first-floor gallery, its facade adorned with ancient sarcophagi and classical reliefs. The structure combines residential spaces with a carefully arranged exterior that displays fragments of Roman antiquity.
Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani commissioned the building between 1605 and 1618 on former vineyard land, converting it into an estate with extensive art collections. This period marks when wealthy Roman families used their suburban villas as centers for art patronage and refined living.
The ground floor rooms contain frescoes painted by Nazarene movement artists depicting scenes from Dante's Divine Comedy and works by Ariosto and Tasso. These wall paintings show the literary refinement and artistic taste that the original patron wanted to display throughout the house.
The building is located at Via Matteo Boiardo 16 in Rome and currently serves as the headquarters of the Delegation of the Holy Land Custody. Visitors should check in advance whether tours are possible, as it is now a religious administrative building that is not always open to the public.
The western facade displays a third-century sarcophagus depicting the myth of Achilles and Scyros, positioned above the main portal. This ancient artwork serves as a striking entrance feature and links classical mythology directly to the Renaissance architecture of the building.
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