Villa Celimontana

Coordinates: 41°53′3″N 12°29′40″E / 41.88417°N 12.49444°E / 41.88417; 12.49444
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Villa Mattei
)
Villa Celimontana
Entrance, photographed from inside the park
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
General information
LocationRome
Coordinates41°53′3″N 12°29′40″E / 41.88417°N 12.49444°E / 41.88417; 12.49444

The Villa Celimontana (previously known as Villa Mattei) is a villa on the Caelian Hill in Rome, best known for its gardens. Its grounds cover most of the valley between the Aventine Hill and the Caelian.

Location

The Villa Celimontana is situated on the summit of the

Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The park is a continuation of Baths of Caracalla
.

Site

Pergamonmuseum
)

Tradition holds that Numa Pompilius met the nymph Egeria on the site, and within the grounds of the present villa, to the left of the present entrance from piazza della Navicella, was the base of the 5th cohort of the Vigiles - these Trajanic-era remains were excavated in 1820, 1931 and 1958. In the mid-16th century the site of the grounds was occupied by a vineyard belonging to the Paluzzelli family, near Santa Maria in Domnica. That family ordered excavations there which found the coloured marbles (probably from a temple) which were re-used in Sangallo's Sala Regia at the Vatican.

Villa

In 1553 the vineyard was acquired for 1000 gold

Giacomo Del Duca (a student of Michelangelo) to build the villa and the first garden scheme. The original villa has been much adapted, but was probably a single-floor structure with a portico along its facade, topped by a Doric frieze and balustrade which still survive. It now has a quadrangular plan with two low wings and a piazza on an artificial platform supported by large ancient walls (largely Flavian
and still visible from the south side).

Villa Celimontana from the south

The Mattei collections began to be gutted in 1770 with the sale of 10 statues to the Vatican (including the

First World War the Italian State confiscated the villa as the property of an enemy national, and in 1923 the most important sculptures in the gardens were moved to the Museo Nazionale Romano. In 1926 the villa was given to the Società Geografica Italiana
.

Gardens

View of the gardens of the Villa Mattei, print by Jean-Claude Richard from a painting by Hubert Robert, 1761
A path through Villa Celimontana

In the gardens were displayed artworks from the Mattei collection. In 1552

Santi Giovanni e Paolo
relating to its 1651 restoration.)

In 1926 the villa gardens were granted by the state to the

Carlo Lambardi - was formerly the main entrance to Villa Giustiniani
before being moved to the present site in 1931. To its left is the obelisk, at the end of the central route.

Obelisk

The obelisk.
See also:
Obelisks in Rome § Ancient Egyptian obelisks

The obelisk is a small example given to the Mattei in 1582. Its lower part is made up of parts of several obelisks and is of unknown origin, but the top part (2.68m high) has hieroglyphics of

Roman liberty
.

It was presented to Ciriaco Mattei in 1582 by the Senate of Rome and moved to the park in 1587 as the centrepiece of the villa's theatre. Manuel de Godoy had the obelisk moved to its present position at the end of the central route by the Spanish architect Antonio Celles in 1817. It was on this occasion that it was placed on its present 16th century base, consisting of 4 lions. In the works a support broke and worker had his hand and part of his arm trapped under the obelisk (where they still remain) - they had to be removed in an emergency amputation.

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Villa Celimontana (Rome).
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