It is perhaps not Caravaggio that makes the dwelling, but the dwelling that makes Caravaggio.
Remained unsold in January during its first auction, the sumptuous villa of the princes Ludovisi Boncompagni has still not found a buyer at the end of the second sale organized at the beginning of April, the organizers announced Thursday to AFP
.
Desired price for the building?
376 million euros.
"No one has submitted a bid
," lawyer Antonella Scano told AFP.
And this, despite the presence of an exceptional painting by Caravaggio (1571-1610) on a ceiling of the building - the only known mural by the Italian master.
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Property of an ancient family of the Roman aristocracy, the villa, which bears the pretty name of Casino de l'Aurore, was initially put up for sale at a price approaching half a billion euros.
A value justified, according to its owners, by the presence of the extremely rare Caravaggio within its walls.
The work in question is on the first floor of the residence.
This oil painting by Caravaggio, real name Michelangelo Merisi, depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune surrounding the globe and the signs of the zodiac.
It dates, according to specialists, from 1597.
Difficult separation
In addition to the exceptional painting, this 2800 m2 residence, located in the very center of Rome, between via Veneto, cradle of the Dolce Vita, and the Spanish Steps, houses frescoes by Guercino (1591-1666) and an elegant garden .
A new sale of the building will be organized on June 30, with a 20% discount on the initial price.
Or 301 million euros all the same.
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The auction was decided by a court in Rome to end a dispute between the heirs of Prince Nicolo Ludovisi Boncompagni, the family patriarch who died in 2018. The dispute opposes the third and last wife of the prince, Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, a colorful 72-year-old American who posed for
Playboy
, to children from her first marriage.
Many Italians would like the property to remain Italian rather than fall into the hands of a wealthy foreigner and are asking the state to take ownership.
But the investment is considerable in the context of the post-pandemic economic recovery by the third largest economy in the euro zone, damaged by the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
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.
