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Villa Versaglia in Formello: Cardinal Chigi's French Dream in the Roman Countryside
One and a half kilometres from the historic centre of Formello, along Via della Villa, the ruins of Villa Versaglia bear witness to a cardinal’s ambition. Flavio Chigi, Cardinal-nephew of Pope Alexander VII, had been received in France by Louis XIV in 1664, and had set eyes on Versailles. On his return to Rome, he resolved to build his summer residence in the manner — with a touch of irony — of the palace of the Sun King. The Italianised name says it all. Work began in 1665, entrusted first to Felice della Greca, then to Carlo Fontana. The palace is 20 kilometres from Rome, in the Parco di Veio.
A Set of Buildings in the Countryside
The villa was not a single building. A square-plan dovecote tower marked the entrance; beyond it was the main residence, there was a building for household staff, and a chapel dedicated to St François de Sales, with paintings by Giovan Angelo Canini. The garden included water features, sculptures, rare fruit trees, and a frescoed aviary. Underground there was a cistern 200 metres long, a circular stable carved into the tufa at a depth of 50 metres, and — so it is said — a secret tunnel leading to Palazzo Chigi in the village.
Decline and Rediscovery
After the cardinal's death in 1693, the villa fell into decay. In 1908 the roof was dismantled, and taken to Castel Fusano. Today the chapel survives, almost intact. The municipality acquired the complex in 2009. Visitable by appointment.
