WHO WILL BE AWARDED VILLA AURORA? Bill Gates or the sheikh of Brunei?

Bill Gates and the Sultan of Brunei will compete today for the monumental Casino dell’Aurora, also known as Villa Aurora. It is one of the most beautiful historic villas in Rome and is located between via Vittorio Veneto, Porta Pinciana and Villa Borghese.

The total area of ​​the villa and the garden is approximately 2,800 square meters, but its value is mainly due to the only fresco ever painted by Caravaggio and to those by Guercino. Not surprisingly, the price is 471 million euros and the auction will start from a minimum bid of 353 million and 250 thousand euros, with a minimum raise of one million.

The property ended up at auction due to a dispute between the heirs following the death of Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi, which took place three years ago, and the Court of Rome ordered its sale to settle the dispute.
The villa is one of the most beautiful private residences in pre-unification Rome and was built at the end of the 16th century by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XVI. The fiefdom to which it belonged was subdivided at the end of the 19th century to make way for other buildings built in the Umbertine era in the center of the city, between via Veneto and via del Tritone. In addition to the historical and architectural value, the villa hosts numerous rooms frescoed by Guercino, such as the Sala dell’Aurora, from which it takes its name.