Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi never tires of admiring Caravaggio's painting adorning a ceiling of her villa in the center of Rome:
"Sometimes I do my yoga underneath on my little mat and I watch it."
“I discover new details of the painting every time
,
”
confides this 72-year-old American born in Texas, third and last wife of the late Prince Nicolo Ludovisi Boncompagni, when receiving an AFP team in her villa, which responds with the pretty name of "Casino de l'Aurore".
Read alsoThe auction of the only fresco by Caravaggio shocks the Romans
Surrounded by framed photos of her many relatives, this elegant woman with a haughty bearing has lived in this exceptional place for twenty years.
"It's extraordinary, and of course it's a great privilege to be the guardian of this villa,"
she says.
The name of the residence, born as an outbuilding of the Villa Ludovisi which has now disappeared, is due to a monumental fresco by Guercino (1591-1666) representing the goddess Aurora on her chariot.
Unfortunately, the princess will have to leave this enchanting place, which must be sold at auction to put an end to the succession dispute opposing her to the children born of the first marriage of Prince Ludovisi Boncompagni, head of this ancient family of Roman nobility who died in 2018.
Where will she go?
"I've already visited a few places in Rome where my husband's ancestors lived (...) I've thought about it, but I don't know, it would make me so sad to miss Villa Aurora and see that someone else lives there
," she sighs.
A museum ?
The Villa Aurora has been valued at 471 million euros, including 350 million for Caravaggio's painting alone.
It was put up for auction for the first time this week, but no one bid.
A new auction is scheduled for April 7, with an estimate revised downwards to 376.8 million euros, a discount of 20%.
The work of the master of chiaroscuro, whose real name is Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610) and who died prematurely at the age of 38, represents Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune with the terrestrial globe, the moon and the signs of the zodiac in the centre.
It is his only known mural to date.
In addition to this treasure, this 2,800 m2 residence, located in the very center of Rome between the famous via Veneto, cradle of the Dolce Vita, and the Spanish Steps, is embellished with a spacious garden adorned with sculptures.
Many would like the property to remain Italian rather than fall into the hands of a wealthy foreigner and are asking the State to acquire it to turn it into a museum.
A petition to this effect on change.org has already collected nearly 40,000 signatures.
An idea that is not to displease the princess, who has invested a lot in the restoration and opening to the public as well as to researchers of this unique place.
"Perhaps the state will buy it back and let me live there (...) so that I can continue my work"
, begins to dream aloud the princess who, in the last century, also posed for Playboy.
“I still feel the presence (of my late husband, editor’s note) everywhere. We spent our happiest moments here and we sacrificed everything for the villa
,” she recalls, recalling that the building had been uninhabited since the 1980s when she and her husband took up residence there.
Under Italian law, the government can only exercise its right of pre-emption after it has actually been acquired by a private individual, within 60 days of the conclusion of the sale and offering the same purchase price.
But the investment is considerable in the context of the economic recovery initiated by the third largest economy in the euro zone after months and months of confinement and a slowdown in activity.
Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi pictured under the Caravaggio fresco.
VINCENZO PINTO / AFP
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