According to forbes News, Villa Aurora, a famous art mansion in the heart of Rome, italy, is being listed for sale, and the current offer is $535 million (about 3.38 billion yuan). Compared with the "mansion ceiling" that many people think of, the $130 million (about 820 million yuan) estate of bill Gates, the world's richest man, it is clearly far ahead.
What makes this mansion so famous that its sale has become a piece of media attention is the precious artwork of its interior, especially the only ceiling wall by the Renaissance master Caravaggio, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, which is one of the most dazzling labels of Villa Aurora.
And the hostess of its sale, Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, 72, is also a legendary figure.
Princess Rita Boncompany-Ludovisi (left)
Villa Aurora with her to be sold (right)
Father was a millionaire The first husband was a political celebrity
The Red Star News reporter noted that from "Forbes" to CBS (CBS), the news reports on the matter on its official website all emphasized such a point in the headline: the villa hostess with the title of European princess is actually a native American woman.
Princess Rita Boncompanny-Ludowisi, formerly known as Rita Carpenter, was born in 1949 to a millionaire family in the United States – her father, C. Hunter Carpenter, was an oil tycoon. After graduating from college, she became acquainted with her first husband, the well-known politician John Jarrett. But the marriage lasted only four years — in 1980, John Jarrett was convicted of taking bribes and the two soon divorced.
After the divorce, Rita still lived a high-profile life, becoming a socialite in the United States, and she also entered the entertainment industry and starred in stage plays.
Relying on her celebrity resources and social skills, Rita has been engaged in real estate transactions since the 1990s, and her biggest business was in 1998, when she sold one of New York's landmarks, the General Motors Building, to Trump for $800 million.
Since then, Rita's high-end real estate business has expanded all the way, with more customers from Europe. She also met her second husband, the Italian nobleman Niccolò Boncompani-Ludovisi. In 2009, the two married, and her title became Princess Rita Boncompani-Ludovisi.
Prince And His Wife Boncompany-Ludovisi
The only known ceiling fresco in Caravaggio is in this villa
The Boncompagni-Ludovisi family has a long and illustrious history in Italy: before merging with the Boncompagni family, the Ludovisi family produced two popes and created the modern papal electoral system. After the two families merged in 1681 to form the Buncompany-Ludowicesi family, they even established their own independent state, the Principality of Piombino, which lasted until it was conquered by Napoleon in 1801. Nicolo and Rita inherited the titles of Prince and Princess Piombino.
The Bangampani-Ludovisi family is also one of the largest collectors of ancient sculpture in Europe. In 1621, Cardinal Ludovisi purchased the Roman manor, which later included the Aurora Villa. These Renaissance masters involved in the "decoration" were also good friends of the cardinal.
The interior of the palatial Aurora villa
The Villa Aurora was built in 1570 as the private garden of Julius Caesar, and at the time of construction a large number of Roman remains were unearthed, many of which are still preserved as garden ornaments. The marble of the front door of the villa dates back to the time of Hadrian in 100 AD. The villa covers an area of 3,000 square meters, the interior is extremely bustling and exquisite, its name "Aurora" comes from a fresco of the goddess Aurora on the ceiling of the first floor foyer, the author of the fresco was the Baroque master Guelcino 400 years ago.
Michelangelo's hand-carved statue of Pan, Galileo's telescope to the papal family, his handwritten letter from King Louis XV of France... The treasures collected in this Aurora villa can be taken out of the town treasure of a world-class art museum.
Caravaggio's only surviving ceiling mural, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (see above), sits on top of a room on the second floor of the villa. Known as the "bad boy", the master of realist painting was invited in 1579 to paint this exquisite 3-meter-wide mural for the villa's then owner, Cardinal Del Monte. This is the only known ceiling fresco by Caravaggio and has become the most well-known label for art fans of Villa Aurora.
In the past few years, Caravaggio has passed down a small number of oil paintings on the shelves, and any one of them appears on the auction floor, and it is almost estimated that it is not less than 100 million euros. This time, this mural alone, there are professional institutions estimated 310 million euros, about 2.15 billion yuan. No wonder a professor at the American Academy in Rome once praised Villa Aurora as "a history of Western art."
No bids were made for the first round of the auction, and she hoped the Italian government would buy it
Princess Rita spent 15 years in this villa with her husband. It wasn't until 2018 that Prince Niccolò Boncompani-Ludovisi died of illness, which became the trigger for the sale of the house.
Prince Ludovisi was reportedly low-key and unassuming, but Rita persuaded him to open the Aurora Villa to the public, so that the building, which has a rich historical value of art treasures and the art treasures inside it, can be known to more people like a museum. Rita also often serves as a guide and docent herself, standing under Caravaggio's frescoes to introduce visitors emotionally: "It's hard to imagine that Caravaggio didn't know Galileo, look at these hands - he is pushing the sun away." ”
Rita standing under the famous ceiling fresco explaining
In 2018, Prince Ludovisi passed away. In his will, he gave Rita the right to continue to reside in Villa Aurora until her death. If the villa is sold, the proceeds will be split in half, with rita in half and the other half divided equally among the three sons born to the prince and his ex-wife.
However, his sons objected to Rita's right to stay in the villa, and the two sides went to court, and the judge finally ruled that the Aurora villa must be auctioned off.
The first round of auctions ended last week and ended up being auctioned because no one bid. But Rita doesn't seem to have any intention of lowering the price of her house, and at the same time launched a petition to ask the Italian government to come up with funds to buy the Aurora villa. Since the building is protected by the Ministry of Culture, the Italian government has the right to buy it at the same price once someone agrees to bid at auction.
Red Star News reporter | Qiao Xueyang
Edited | Duan Xueying
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