Villa Medici

Situated next to the Borghese Gardens, and just a short distance from the Trinta Di Monti church at the top of the Spanish Steps, is the Villa Medici, which currently houses the Academy of France. Ferdinand I de Medici acquired the property in 1576 when he was Grand Duke of Tuscany. There are a series of grand gardens throughout the property. Ferdinand I had a study built on the northeast side of the gardens, above part of the Aurelian Wall that marked the perimeter of the estate. He used the study as a retreat from the every-day pressures of his office. The whole estate is considered to be one of the most elegant and worldly settings in Rome. For a time, this was the Grand Duke's embassy to the Holy See. In 1737, when the male line of the Medici's died out, the property passed to the house of Lorraine. Napoleon Bonaparte came into possession of the property in 1803 and transferred it to the French Academy of Rome. Today, the Academy hosts up to two dozen artists of varying genres who apply to stay there from 6-18 months in order to complete their projects.

While the facade facing the street appears rather plain, because it was at the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation, and folks were upset with the opulence of the wealthy, the part facing the gardens is quite spectacular and were kept a secret to only those that were invited into the gardens.

This part of the gardens is dedicated to the legend of Niobe and her children. According to the legend, Niobe was quite proud of her 10 children and scornful of Leto's twins, Apollo and Artemis. At the insistence of their mother, Apollo killed Niobe's sons and Artemis killed her daughters. Niobe, again according to the legend, was inconsolable at the loss of her children, weeping incessantly until she turned to stone.

Part of the garden complex as seen from the apartments on the second floor. Unfortunately, because of copyright issues, pictures of the apartments themselves are forbidden. However, for a fee, you can rent a number of the rooms in the a to stay overnight.

The pair of male lions standing with one paw on a sphere or ball can be seen in a number of places in the villa. Speculation abounds that the spheres represented the notion of the earth being round at a time when most, including the Church, thought the earth was flat.

The view of Rome from atop the wall next to the villa.