This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Villa Mazzanti on Monte Mario: painted banana trees, a panoramic loggia and a small lake with a chalet
On the eastern slope of Monte Mario, in a commanding position above the river Tiber, Villa Mazzanti is the residence that a building contractor had constructed for himself in the second half of the 19th century, imitating the nobility of yesteryear. Since the 1960s it has been owned by the City of Rome, and since 1998 it has been the headquarters of the Regional Authority RomaNatura.
A bourgeois who wanted to live like an aristocrat
The land belonged to the Barberini family. It was bought by Luigi Mazzanti — a building contractor from the wealthy middle class. In those years it was fashionable to build a villa in a panoramic location, copying aristocratic models. The result is a small but scenic building in an eclectic style: Renaissance and classical architecture with a few exotic flourishes mixed together, as was the custom at the time.
Loggias, painted banana trees and a little lake with a chalet
The building features a loggia with two side terraces that open onto a view of the city. The interior has rich pictorial decorations, depicting a painted greenhouse with banana trees, agaves, ivy, philodendrons and kentia palms, intertwined with plants of pure fantasy. Outside, there is an English-style garden of about four hectares, and a wood of mostly Mediterranean plants traversed by a winding path. At the top of the climb there is an artificial pond with a small tuff island — and above it, a rustic little house imitating a mountain chalet.
Practical info
The villa is located at Via Gomenizza 81, within the Monte Mario Nature Reserve in Rome.
