No buyer for Rome villa with ceiling fresco by Caravaggio
A TEXAN-born princess is “astonished” that the Rome villa she lives in, which contains the only surviving ceiling fresco by Caravaggio, has failed to sell at auction for a second time despite a hefty discount.
Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, who inherited her title from her late husband, an Italian aristocrat, said auctioneers had failed to publicise the sale or drum up enough interest in the auction.
The huge villa, located in the historic centre of Rome, has been billed as the world’s most expensive private home.
The property was first put up for sale at auction in January, when the asking price was €471 million (£393 million). There were no bidders. It was auctioned for a second time on Thursday, with the price tag reduced to €377million. Again, no one came forward with an offer.
Known as Villa Ludovisi or the Casino Aurora, it is packed with art and history, including a priapic statue of the Greek god Pan, attributed to Michelangelo, standing in the garden.
Caravaggio painted the ceiling mural in 1597. It depicts the gods Pluto, Jupiter and Neptune gathered around a celestial orb decorated with zodiac signs and adorns a room that was designed for alchemy experiments.
The sale of the villa was ordered by a court in September after judges ruled that an acrimonious dispute between the princess and her three stepchildren – the sons of her late husband, Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi – had become intractable.
The auction is being handled by an auction house that normally administers the sale of assets resulting from bankruptcies and court orders.
“It is shocking to me that it didn’t sell. It’s just astonishing. Where did they advertise it? If it was Christie’s or Sotheby’s they would have approached people like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk.”
Journalists covering the two auctions found it hard to find information about the sale or to access a web link.
“The auctioneers are more accustomed to selling off confiscated scooters and boats. They have never had to handle a half-billion-euro property,” said Princess Rita, 72, whose varied past includes working as a property agent and twice posing naked for Playboy.
The villa will be auctioned for a third time in June, with an asking price of €301 million; another large discount.