Rome gives Villa Aldobrandini a new lease of life.

Rome has launched a major restoration project at Villa Aldobrandini as part of efforts to redevelop the park and make it more accessible to visitors.

Despite its central location on the Quirinal hill, the villa designed by Giacomo della Porta is little-known to tourists and under-visited by Romans due to its limited accessibility.

The city plans to change all that by opening up the high-walled villa with new access points, elevators and coffee houses.

The €8.3 million project at the 16th-century villa is divided into two sections, the first of which got underway last month.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said the project “is one of the most significant and important construction sites" being carried out by the city, describing the villa as "an architectural jewel abandoned for decades and in some cases for centuries.”

Partita la riqualificazione di #VillaAldobrandini.

È un posto bellissimo, con un incredibile patrimonio naturalistico, artistico e architettonico. Per troppi anni è stata però quasi dimenticata, anche a causa delle oggettive difficoltà di accesso. Ora verrà finalmente restaurata… pic.twitter.com/shsvyc6Sb9— Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) May 15, 2024

The first part of the scheme, with funds of €2.7 million, will focus on redeveloping the villa's grounds as well as restoring a 16th-century loggia.

A coffee house will be created at the corner of the villa between Via Nazionale and Largo Magnanapoli with an elevator connecting to the garden.

The second section of the project, with funds of €5.6 million, is scheduled to start after the Jubilee Year, in January 2026.

The works will involve reopening public access from Via Nazionale, restoring a staircase and installing a new lift, reclaiming the pavilion at the corner of Via Nazionale and Via Mazzarino, reviving the gardens and illuminating archaeological excavations.

For more details of the restoration project see the city website.

A brief history of Villa Aldobrandini

Originally from Florence, the Aldobrandini family was at the height of its powers when Ippolito Aldobrandini became Pope Clement VIII in 1592.

In 1600 the pope bought a large site on the Quirinal hill from the Vitelli family and donated it to his nephew Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini.

The existing buildings were demolished to make way for the construction of a new villa, designed by Giacomo della Porta, while the cardinal set about decorating his new home with a vast collection of art and filled the gardens with marble statues.

The grounds of the villa were reduced drastically, to the current size, with the construction of Via Nazionale, built after Rome became Italy's capital in 1871.