Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi

Duration: 2 hours
Guided tour with exclusive opening

The 16th century building has a cross shaped plan because in 1858 to each wing was added an avant-corps. The building is what remains of the villa Ludovisi, built in 1662 by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi upon the Horti Sallustiani, to testimony the ancient glories.

Inside the building, in the Sala dell’Aurora, you can admire the famous fresco by Guercino that represents Aurora moving forward on a chariot and scattering flowers, as the night disappears with the arrival of the new day.

In the Sala del Camino or dei Paesi, are the Landscapes by Guercino. In the small vault of the alchemistic lab is an oil wall painting representing Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto attribute to Caravaggio according to Bellori.

The famous collection of ancient statues, that once embellished the villa and was bought by the State in 1901, is now exhibited in Palazzo Altemps, one of the seats of the Museo Nazionale Romano.