Villa Aldobrandini
The first villa that we meet coming from Rome is the villa Aldobrandini, the most important in Frascati, called also Belvedere for its panoramic position: Goethe, who was a guest here, declares that “rarely a villa could find a better position”. The villa was built up in the 1550 by Alexander Rufini, reconstructed by Giacomo della Porta in 1598 commissioned by Clement VIII who meant to give it to his grandson Peter Aldobrandini, his favourite nephew.
The inner decorations are works of important artists of the time such as the Zuccari brothers, Cavalier d’ Arpino, Passignano and Domenichino. Famous is the rustic and monumental Theatre of Waters, work of Carl Maderno and Orazio Olivieri, architect who had worked for the gorgeous Fountains of Villa D’Este in Tivoli.
Villa Rufina Falconieri
Built in 1548 by monsignor Alexander Rufini, it passed then to several Roman families when in 1628 it was acquired by the Falconieri family that commissioned the restoration to the brilliant architect Francisco Borromini. The interiors were subsequently decorated by Pier Ghezzi Lion and Carl Maratta. The villa was for a while property of the composer Felix J. L. Mendelssohn (1809-47).Today is center of the European Center of the Education that gives authorization for visits (tel. 06-941851).
Villa Torlonia
The original nucleus of the villa was built by wishes of the poet Annibal Caro (1507-1566) but it was transformed in a gorgeous palace by cardinal Scipione Borghese who engaged Carl Maderno and Giovanni Fontana. It passed to different families, was then bought by the Torlonia family and unfortunately destroyed during the bombing of the Second World War. The garden that survived with the famous “Theatre of Waters” by Carl Maderno is today a public park.
