Villa del Vascello, 17th-century villa on Gianicolo hill in Rome, Italy

Villa del Vascello stands on via di San Pancrazio, where its boundary wall and the remains of the facade face the street. The main palace, demolished after the 1849 fighting, originally had three floors plus a mezzanine and an attic; the surviving remains still show false rocks and grottoes in a pre-Romantic naturalistic taste.

The villa was built in 1663 by the brothers Basilio and Plautilla Bricci for Abbot Elpidio Benedetti, agent of Louis XIV and adviser to Cardinal Mazarin. It passed to Filippo Giulio Mancini, Duke of Nevers, then to Count Giraud in 1749. In June 1849 it was the last stronghold before Rome's walls during the French siege; the main casino was partly demolished. General Giacomo Medici, its 1849 defender, bought it in 1877 and restored the minor buildings.

The name comes from the palace's shape, which made it look like a ship under sail. The main gallery vault carried frescoes: L'Aurora by Pietro da Cortona, Il Mezzodì by Allegrini and La Notte by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi. Since April 1983 the villa has housed the Grande Oriente d'Italia.

Villa del Vascello is a private property, divided into two parts and used since April 1983 as the seat of the Grande Oriente d'Italia, so it cannot be visited inside. The perimeter wall and the remains of the facade face via di San Pancrazio on the Gianicolo; the site can be seen from the street.

Giacomo Medici, who had commanded the villa's defence in June 1849, later bought the property and was made Marquis of the Vascello; he restored at least the minor buildings, giving the complex its present appearance. From April 1983 the villa has housed the Grande Oriente d'Italia.