Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

This Rome information blog about the Villa Torlonia is written for the guests of the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast in Rome.

The Villa Torlonia is a public garden in Rome, designed by the neo-classical architect Giuseppe Valadier. From the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel and Rome Termini it can be reached by taking either bus 90 or bus 36.

From the 17^th until the mid-18^th century the Villa Torlonia was owned by the Pamphilj family. They, as did others in the area around the Via Nomentana, used it for agricultural purposes. The Colonna family, who bought the property in 1760, continued this use.

The banker Giovanni Torlonia, who had bought the Villa from the Colonna’s in 1797, began construction in 1806 and his son Alessandro finished it.

Valadier transformed two already existing buildings into a Palazzo and into what is now the Casino dei Principi. He also built the Scuderie (Stables) and an entrance which was destroyed when the Via Nomentana was widened. He redesigned the park itself, creating symmetrical, perpendicular lanes intersecting at the palace. He also had classical sculptures placed in the villa.

In 1832, after Giovanni Torlonia’s death, his son Alessandro took over and hired Giovan Battista Caretti to add the Tempio di Saturno, the Capella di Sant’Alessandro, the Tribuna con Fontana, plus a number of buildings that don’t exist anymore.

Giuseppe Jappelli designed the southern part and Quintiliano Raimondi did the Teatro and the Aranciera (now the Limonaia). Unlike the neo-classical northern part, the southern part is characterized by the creation of lakes, winding lanes and a number of new buildings. In 1842 Alessandro has two obelisks erected, in memory of his parents.

Alessandro Giovanni then transformed the Capanna Svizzera into the Casina delle Civette and had theVillino Medievale and the Villino Rosso built.

In 1919 3^rd and 4^th century Jewish catacombs were found underneath the Villa. During the 1920’s, when the Villa Torlonia became his official residence (for the exorbitant sum of 1 Lira a year), Benito Mussolini and Prince Torlonia had an air-raid shelter built inside these Catacombs.

After the war the villa was abandoned, decay set in, and it was not until 1978 that it was bought by the City of Rome, restored, and turned into a public park.

The most important buildings in the Villa Torlonia are the Casina delle Civette, the Casino dei Principi and the Casino Nobile. The landscaped park also houses 13 garden pavilions representing exotic parts of the world.

The Villa Torlonia is entered from the Via Nomentana. Its official address is Via Nomentana 70 – 00161 Roma. For more information and for bookings the Cooperativa IL SOGNO (Viale Regina Margerita, 192 – 00198 Roma, Tel: +39(0)685301758, Fax: +39(0)685301756, mail: service@romeguide.it) can be contacted.
There is WiFi access in the park.