Villa Bell’Aspetto – En dold skatt

Originaltext på engelska:

VILLA BELL’ASPETTO, A HIDDEN TREASURE

On the seafront between Anzio and Nettuno, stands Villa Borghese, also named Villa Bell’Aspetto, a seventeenth-century estate with a a garden with an exotic flavor.

The Villa was built in 1647 by Cardinal Vincenzo Costaguti as a hunting lodge. Later it was purchased by the Torlonia family and in 1832 by Prince Camillo Borghese, husband of Paolina Bonaparte,Napoleon’s favourite sister. The Villa is still owned by the Borghese family who lives here for a few months during the year.

The original name “Villa Bell’Aspetto” ( beautiful appearance) tells how this place was of an exceptional beauty, due also to the strong contrast between the woods  surrounding the estate and the view over the deep blue of the Lazio sea.

The building did not undergo major architectural changes, while the garden changed its appearance over the centuries.  It went from being the typical Mediterranean garden with holm oaks, cork trees, downy oaks and agave to the exotic looking garden we admire today. Over the past 70 years, plants such as avocado, flamboyants and datures have been added.

The visit begins in front of a large fountain eriched with splendid rare water lilies that bloom especially in the summer season. The square, where the mountain is located, is embellished by Pricess Lydia Borghese who decided to plant seasonal blooms in blue e yellow color to refer  to the coat of arms of her ancient and noble family.

Then you enter the undergrowth, rich in acanthus, asparagine and butcher’s broom, to arrive at an Italian-style orange grove. Here the box hedge forms two mirrored hearts, a tribute from prince Rodolfo to his beloved wife who admired it from the balconies of the villa.

Turning towards the building, a staircase, ending with a nymphaeum decorated with a Roman sarcophagus depicting the myth of Atalanta and the Calydonian boar, leads us to the “Bourgeoisian terrace” and to the entrance of the villa.

Lots of famous guest found hospitality in the Villa, among them Queen Christina of Sweden, Pope Innocent XII and the  Gabriele D’Annunzio. The Italian poet stayed here for a long time together with his lover, Eleonora Duse. While he was here, he wrote the pastoral drama “La figlia di Iorio” and she invented the scenographic effect of the rose petalst that fell from above on the spectators that characterized her theatrical performances.

Continuing the walk, you will arrive at the rear courtyard, also an Italian Renaissance garden, with wood hedges and fruit trees. Here there is also the” fountain of the two children” designed by Alasia Borghese and which gives liveliness and a touch of modernity to the environment.

Then the walk take you to some galleries excaveted in the “macco”(a Pliocene limestone) that were used by the 6th Corps of the 5th American Army used as Headquarters during  the landing in Anzio and Nettuno in 1944 and that are also of considerable impact.

The walk ends by crossing one of the paths of the wooded reserve where, in the midst of a nature typical of the Mediterranean area with holm oaks and cork trees, you can meet  exotic tree such as avocados and some Chorisia Speciosa (also known as bottle tree or Kapok plant), or the beautiful cacti such as agaves and aloe planted by the Brazilian grandmother of the current princess Borghese.

The Villa, erected between sky, forest and sea, embolie all the beauty that the same name tells us and has managed to cross the centuries and the wars that have been bitterly fought right here.

Written by: Ilaria Degl’Innocenti