Villa Medici

Villa Medici stands on the Pincian Hill in Rome, overlooking the city from its commanding position above the Spanish Steps. The villa has served since 1725 as the home of the Académie de France à Rome, an institution founded by Louis XIV in 1666 to allow French artists, architects, and musicians to study in Italy. Its gardens, among the oldest in Rome to survive in something close to their Renaissance form, contain ancient sculptures, fountains, and shaded walks that have inspired generations of residents, from Ingres to Berlioz.

The building itself retains its sixteenth-century facade, decorated with antique reliefs collected by Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, who commissioned the villa's transformation in the 1570s. Guided tours take visitors through the historic interiors and grounds, revealing the layers of French and Italian cultural history embedded in its rooms and terraces. The villa also hosts temporary exhibitions and cultural events that draw on its dual identity as a working arts residency and one of Rome's most distinguished historic properties.