Villa Giovanelli Fogaccia: A Historic Residence in Rome
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Italian
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Elite Residence
On this page14 sections
History
Villa Giovanelli Fogaccia is a historic residence in Rome, Italy, in the former S. IX Aurelio suburb and within the Fogaccia estate. It stands on the edge of the settlement historically known as Borgata Fogaccia, now Montespaccato, and developed around an older central tower that was expanded through successive additions.
Origins and transformation
The villa’s present form emerged from interventions commissioned by Count Piero Fogaccia, a nobleman from Clusone. The redesign was undertaken by Marcello Piacentini, an Italian architect and urban planner whose work included major projects during the early twentieth century. For Piacentini, the residence represented his first experiment in private-house construction.
The guided-road experiment
In 1937, part of the villa’s park became the setting for an experimental guided-road system developed by engineer Gaetano Ciocca with support from the Federation of Industrialists and the interest of Count Fogaccia. A raised central guide directed a rubber-tyred truck along a narrow track approximately 1.5 kilometres long. The line included a small bridge and several switches, and trials continued for about two months before extending into 1938.
Some trials were attended by King Vittorio Emanuele III, who ruled Italy from 1900 to 1946, and by the Head of Government. The system was officially inaugurated by Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy on 1 April 1938. A tradition linked to the ceremony holds that the king, out of respect for the family’s nobility, walked along the entrance walls rather than stepping on the coat of arms.
Giovanelli ownership and wartime occupation
In 1939, Countess Giulia Fogaccia Zammitti, Count Piero Fogaccia’s niece and heir, married Prince Giuseppe Giovanelli. The residence then became the couple’s Roman home and took the name Villa Giovanelli-Fogaccia.
After 8 September 1943, German troops occupied the villa while the area lay within an active combat zone. On 6 June 1944, American forces broke through the German barrier at the junction near Borgata Fogaccia. Before withdrawing, German troops mined the building with time bombs, but Allied troops arrived in time to defuse them.
After the conflict, the villa again became the residence of the Giovanelli princes. It remains their property and continues to be used. From 1970 onward, it has also served as a set for numerous film productions.
Remains
The villa combines an older central tower with buildings added around it over the centuries. The historic core is built of exposed tuff, a volcanic stone, with the blocks deliberately arranged in an irregular pattern. Piacentini’s later design organizes the residence through staggered floor levels, monumental entrances, a grand staircase, and richly finished interiors.
Tower, circulation, and entrances
Central tower and interior levels
The central tower forms the physical core of the complex. Around it, successive structures created the larger residence. In the present building, the living rooms are not all placed on one floor. They occupy levels between the raised ground floor and the first floor, allowing movement between them by a single flight of stairs rather than two.
Grand staircase
A grand staircase links three halls. Pilasters, which are shallow vertical wall supports, and arches divide its two flights, producing a complex arrangement of lines and perspectives within the circulation space.
Doors and heraldic features
Two heavy doors, each 4.34 metres high, close the entrances to the courtyard and the terrace. The entrance floors contain two large coats of arms, measuring approximately 2.95 metres and 4 metres. Their imagery includes the Farnese lily, a silver-and-blue band, a focaccia, and an elm, with the last two serving as emblems of the Fogaccia arms.
Rooms, materials, and craftsmanship
Salon
The salon covers 132 square metres. It is a room without openings and has two projections, one toward the side associated with morning and noon and the other toward the evening side.
Floors, ceilings, and ceramics
The interiors contain fine floors and ceilings, wrought ironwork, and elaborately made surrounds for doors and windows. The terracotta floors were specially produced in Perugia, while the ceramics came from Naples.
Ironwork and marble bathroom
Artisans from the Seriana Valley forged the ironwork used for grilles, handles, door plates, keys, and large chased bolts. The guest bathroom is faced with San Benedetto marble from the same valley. Its taps reproduce rural animals, including a snail, an earthworm, and a tortoise.
Peperino portals and coat of arms
The interior and exterior surrounds, entrance portals, terrace pillars, and heraldic emblem above the main door are made of peperino, a volcanic stone widely used around Viterbo and Rome. The coat of arms above the door measures 2.50 metres and was carved from a single block. The specially quarried stone weighs 22 metric quintals, or 2,200 kilograms, and was sculpted by an artist from Viterbo.
