Vatican Museums

Work on the construction of this building, immersed in the greenery of the Vatican Gardens, began in 1558 during the papacy of Pope Paul IV Carafa (1555-1559) and was completed during the pontificate of Pius IV Medici di Marignano (1559-1565). Pirro Ligorio (1512/13-1583), a renowned architect and painter of the time, was commissioned to design a villa with a loggia and vestibules surrounding an oval courtyard. The refinement of the architectural design, together with the sculptures, frescoes and the fine plasterwork that enriches the façade, refers to ancient figurative culture in a Renaissance reworking of exquisite antique taste. The statue of the goddess Cybele stands in the centre of the fishpond, while the basin, once full of fish, now houses water turtles, also immortalised in the nineteenth-century mosaics on either side. The interior of the building was frescoed by famous artists such as Federico Barocci (1535-1612), Santi di Tito (1536-1603) and the brothers Taddeo Zuccari (1529-1566) and Federico Zuccari (1539-1609).

Secluded and meticulously designed, the Casina was intended to create an “old-fashioned” atmosphere. The entire complex was designed to recall the places of pleasure and retreat of ancient Rome, as demonstrated by its architectural structure and refined decorative elements. Over time, starting at the end of the sixteenth century during the pontificate of Pius V Ghislieri (1566-1572), the wonderful garden was developed all around, tended by Michele Mercati, a skilled botanist of the time, and by the Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi.