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The
history
Pope
Clement VIII in 1594, noticed that Anzio had became a poor miserable
village. For that reason he entrusted Monsignor Bartolomeo Cesi to
recuperate the place from poverty. Cesi himself became aware of the
natural artistic treasures of Anzio.
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He
chose a pleasant hillock with a view over the sea and in a short
time built an edifice in the style of his noble family, according
to the manner of Renaissance architect Vignola. He also enlarged
the surrounding park through the purchase of other pieces of land,
devoting himself to excavation and rediscovering some historical
works which brought him a considerable fortune. Moreover, he gave
a strong impulse to the construction of new buildings and to the
renovation of the building patrimony of the town.
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When
Cesi died in 1621, his properties were transferred to Federico, Marquis
of Montecelio and first Earl of Acquasparta. Attracted by the
healthiness of the climate
of Anzio, very beneficial to his poor health, he tried to install a
botanical garden inside his villa but he never finished the work. His
legacy passed to Giovan Federico Cesi
III ,
who sold the property to Camillo Pamphilj.
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The Pamphilj
family called the villa “Casino pamphiljano di Capo d’Anzio” and
tried for long time, entrusted by Pope Innocent XII, to rebuild both the
Neronian port and the economy of the town. For 28 years Camillo Pamphilj
held fast to the assigned task, but at the age of 73, he asked the
Pontiff to be exempted from the heavy duty, nevertheless Pamphilj
ordered that all the artistic treasures found during the excavations of
the Neronian port had to be carried with care to Rome, into the Villa
Pamphilj-Bel Respiro, including the famous statues in black marble of
Jupiter and Esculapius, now kept in the Capitoline Museums.
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All
the properties of Pamphilj passed to Giovanni Andrea Doria III
thanks
to his marriage with Anna Pamphilj in 1763. But the Borghese family,
by virtue of the first wedding of Olimpia Aldobrandini with Paolo,
claimed the name and the legacy of Aldobrandini themselves; they
obtained this recognition in 1769. In this way the Doria joined the
primogeniture Pamphilj and the second-born of Borghese family,
Francesco, succeeded in the secundogeniture Pamphilj, united in the
Aldobrandini family. |
Francesco
Borghese-Aldobrandini inherited the estate in Nettuno and Villa
Borghese, already purchased by his brother Camillo; the Pamphilj palace
still in Nettuno and the villa in Anzio ( which had taken the name of
Doria-Pamphilj ) were obtained through a compromise of exchange in 1834.
The Villa was called “Adele” from the name of Francesco Borghese’s
spouse.
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The
villa was rented from 1839 to 1909, first to Marcantonio V
Borghese, then to Paolo, Francesco and Giuseppe, all of the
Borghese family; during these years
important works of enlargement and restructuring of the
estate were carried out as well as many artistic works by the
painter Costantino Ragghianti. |
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Moreover
the Borgheses planned the covering of the courtyard to make the “Sala
delle Conchiglie “ (Hall of the Shells). In 1909 a contract was
registered by the Notary Buttaoni for the amount of 250 thousand lire,
between Don Giuseppe Borghese and the Iandolo and Tavazzi brothers, who
were warned not to carried out excavations research, even though they
too were possessed by the magic feverish climate created by the
discoveries made inside the estates of Aldobrandini at Villa Sarsina.
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The
impossibility to recuperate their money through providential
discoveries forced them soon after, to give over the building to
the Bank of Italy, which then will passed it to the Poli bankers
in 1922, and bought it back in 1935. In 1927 the Poli bankers
carried out a general restructuring of the villa to make the Hotel
Excelsior; then, in 1928, they increased its receptivity by
overhang the frontal body of the villa: work carried out in
expectation of the hoped for opening of the Casino Polli, the
“Paradiso sul Mare”, |
completed
by Cesare Bazzani in 1924, which was supposed to bring a greater tourist
inflow. Ten years later, the executive secretary of Fascism abroad
purchased the villa from the Bank of Italy and then, in 1947, by a
decree of the provisional President of the Italian Republic, it was
acquired from the Foundation of the Sons and Daughter of Italy abroad.
The villa modified its name to “Villa Pia” when it became property
of the Holy See through the Pontifical organisation of assistance,
thanks to Monsignor Baldelli, who hosted
many refugees from Lybia. In 1949, with a contract registered by the
Notary Urbani, the villa passed to the real estate joint-stock company
“Antium” and finally, in 1964, to the Town of Anzio, to be utilised
as an elementary school and public park. Today, in the villa there are
various offices of the Town of Anzio and the Museum of the Landing of
the Allied Military Forces. Moreover, the edifice has been structured as
a cultural multifunctional centre for permanent exhibitions, films,
seminars, lectures. In the park beneath, there is the head office of the
policemen of the Town. At the entrance of the park there is also a
station of Carabinieri to prevent vandalism against the important
archaeological objects of the ancient neronian Antium kept there.
Ownership transfer:
1600 – Mons.r Bartolomeo Cesi
1615 – Principe De Caesis
1648 – Camillo Pamphilj
1763 – Giovanni Andrea IV Doria-Pamphilj
1834 – Francesco Borghese
1839 – Marcantonio V Borghese
1909 – F.lli Iandolo e Tavazzi
1910 – Banca d’Italia
1922 – F.lli Poli
1935 – Banca d’Italia
1937 – Segret. Fasci all’Estero
1947 – Fond. Figli Italiani all’Estero
1948 – Pontificia Opera Assistenza
1949 – Società Fondiaria Antium S.p.a.
1964 – Comune di Anzio
ATTENZIONE !!!
La riproduzione o distribuzione, totale o parziale,
non autorizzata del testo riportato in lingua inglese è vietata e
punibile per legge.
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