Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia Comune di Ariccia
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Castles and Lords of the Castles. A journey through the historical residences of Rome Province.
Ariccia, Palazzo Chigi - Piazza di Corte, 14
(July 19 – October 20, 2002)
 
 
(click the photo to enlarge)
Click the photo to enlarge
Franz Xavier Winterhalter
Ritratto dell’Imperatrice
Eugenia de Montijo
Tengler Galzignato
Collection, Nemi
The event has been supported and promoted by the Province of Rome and represents a journey through the historical residences of Rome Province, with the presence of artworks coming from the most important historical residences of the Roman countryside. The Chigi Palace curator, Dr. Francesco Petrucci, in the exhibition has presented a collection of masterpieces that illustrate the cultural and historical significance of Rome province.
 
The exhibit aims to highlight the importance of the historical residences in the Roman countryside, with particular interest placed on castles, palaces and villas of the Renaissance and the Baroque age that were designed by great architects such as Vignola, Giacomo della Porta, Maderno, Bernini, Borromini, Vanvitelli, Marchionni, and where the best artists present in Rome worked. A section of the exhibit is dedicated to photographs of the main residences in the Province of Rome, including a collection of models representing the "Tuscolan" Villas.
 
A section is dedicated to paintings never exhibited before representing views of the Roman countryside , such as two canvases by Gaspar Van Wittel representing the castles of Palo and Grottaferrata, and two rare views by Paolo Anesi representing the ports of Anzio and Nettuno, surrounded by the Corsini, Albani, Costaguti - Borghese, and Pamphilj villas.
 
(click the photo to enlarge)
Click the photo to enlarge
Franz Xavier Winterhalter
Ritratto di Napoleone III
Tengler Galzignato
Collection, Nemi
Another section presents the faces of the lords of the castles: princes, dukes, marquises that lived in the castles, furnishing them with artworks and excellent furniture.
 
A hall is dedicated to the popes that from the 1600s used the summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, with unpublished portraits by Subleyras and Mengs representing pope Benedict XIV and Clement XIII.
 
The portrait of Luciano Bonaparte at Villa Rufinella in Frascati will be exhibited in a section dedicated to Napoleon, highlighting the relationship between Rome, the countryside and France. In the Napoleonic section we find also two wonderful portraits by Winterhalter that are the models for the official portraits of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenia, preserved in Nemi.