And finally the judge spoke. The Casino dell’Aurora dei Boncompagni Ludovisi, the treasury of art just a stone’s throw from Via Veneto, famous among scholars for having the only mural by Caravaggio in the world, must be liberated. On January 10, the court signed the order to “free the Casino dell’Aurora of people and things, having already alerted the Carabinieri barracks in Via Barberini to act immediately”.
The direct interlocutor is clear. The Casino dell’Aurora, which owes its name to the sumptuous fresco by Guercino, is currently occupied only by Mrs. Rita Carpenter (who lives in the apartment created on the mezzanine floor of the ancient building), Texan, third and last wife of Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi, who died in March 2018 at the age of 77 was the owner of the family villa along with his three children.
We are dealing with a story that has attracted international media attention for a year since the news of their court-ordered auction, after a long and unresolved inheritance dispute, with an initial estimate (today super discount) of 471 million euros. Last but not least, the authoritative The Guardian has also dealt with it.
Coming back to the immediate eviction order, among the court’s reasons is a serious disinterest “in the dangerous situation created by the failure to preserve property, endangering the safety of the people and the protection of their invaluable -historical value”. Deficiencies in the ordinary maintenance and the widespread conditions of deterioration of the villa Just a few days ago, a large marble slab of the retaining wall of the villa on Via Aurora, between Via Ludovisi and Via Lombardia, collapsed.
An almost tragedy for this sudden detachment of a large fragment from a height of more than ten meters in an area with constant pedestrian and car passage. The road still appears cordoned off and closed to traffic, showing a scenario of widespread deterioration with weeds and ivy lining the walls. At the corner of Via Lombardia, among other things, a striking scaffolding stands out that supports another part of the wall of the villa. And on the ground you can still see the yellow and red tapes left by the police to cordon off the part of the villa on Via Lombardia.
DISTURBANCE”
The children, who have been co-owners of the villa for at least four years, and most recently at the hearing on the 9th, but also directly into custody, possibly by private security and maintenance institutes. The auction scheduled for last Wednesday has been postponed to April 6th. Apparently, the court did not like the “disruptive” attitude towards potential bidders. Translated, with his profession and his attitude he did not “favour” the sale. So much so that they have postponed the auction hearing to the same economic terms. Unchanged price (already marked by discounts) of 145 million euros.
What fate will the casino have? A direct acquisition (with right of first refusal) by the state is difficult to foresee in the near future: the number is still very demanding for the state treasury. Who might it appeal to? To a private benefactor, motivated by the glory of rescuing a treasure. The confinement to the villa also prohibits change of use and invasive restructuring.
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