Visit Castelli Romani After his death in 1566, the heirs passed it onto Cardinal Tolomeo Galli who had new additional premises built. In 1607, it was then sold to Cardinal Scipione Borghese and renovated thanks to the magnificent work of Giovanni Fontana, Carlo Maderno and Flaminio Ponzio who planned the fountains and aqueduct supply system. The combination of water and nature has produced fantastic effects and is an added beauty to the park. Following, the villa became property of various families: Altemps, Colonna, Sforza and lastly Torlonia. War bombings destroyed the entire original residence. At present, there is a modern building inside the park yet the high positioned fountain and water theatre are still an attraction and remind us of the splendid waterfalls of the past.
Villa Torlonia
The villa is situated in the public park a short step away from the old centre. It was originally an old farm given by the Abbey of Grottaferrata to the dramatist and poet Annibal Caro at an annual charge of four scudi (ancient coins used in Italy until the 19th century): he built a small residential home which he called Carovilla and where he completed the translation of the Aeneid.
