Villa Carpegna reopens in Rome — Photo courtesy of sunshinecityAfter undergoing a half of a million-dollar face-lift, the historic 17th century villa and park, Villa Carpegna finally reopens in Rome. The historic park located on the outskirts of Vatican City between the Aurelian Hill and Via Gregorio VII reopened this month after being close for nearly 7 months of restoration work.The villa’s park, shut down last summer after city officials approved its €540,000 restoration project plans. Villa Carpegna is a great park to take the family — Photo courtesy of sunshinecityThe newly refurbished park includes new walkways, trees, plants and hedges. The villa was also graced with wonderful flowers and benches for visitors to sit on.

The villa and park’s creation dates back to 1684 when Cardinal Gaspare, a member of the Carpegna family and a very wealthy, cultured man during purchased the land. Several years later, with help from his trusted architect, Giovanni Antonio de Rossi, the built the Casino Nobile where the actual villa stands today. Over the years, the Villa and park passed through various different owners, all of whom belonged to nobile families.

Today where the actual Casino Nobile sits, is where the offices of the Quadriennale di Roma, the Italian national institution for promoting Italian contemporary art is located. The Villa Carpegna Complex is also a lovely space that puts on contemporary art exhibitions and has a wonderful library and archives dedicated to contemporary art that’s open to the public. Apart from visiting the actual villa itself, locals love coming to the park on the weekends with their families for an afternoon stroll or a picnic.