Mussolini's Roman villa restored to glory
The magnificent historic villa that was the home of Benito Mussolini when he was the all-powerful Duce of Italy has been reopened to the public after nearly 30 years of restoration.
The nine buildings and gardens of the Villa Torlonia, which were largely built in the 19th century by the Torlonia princes of the Vatican aristocracy, will now house an art museum dedicated to the Roman school of 20th-century painting.
The complex will also house a high-tech playground and a museum of the Holocaust, dedicated to the 2,000 Jews who were deported from Rome during the German occupation of 1943-44.
The villa was taken over by Allied occupying forces at the end of the Second World War and later suffered years of neglect, becoming a haven for drug users, homeless people and vandals, as Mussolini’s legacy remained controversial.
Read entire article at Times Online (UK)
The nine buildings and gardens of the Villa Torlonia, which were largely built in the 19th century by the Torlonia princes of the Vatican aristocracy, will now house an art museum dedicated to the Roman school of 20th-century painting.
The complex will also house a high-tech playground and a museum of the Holocaust, dedicated to the 2,000 Jews who were deported from Rome during the German occupation of 1943-44.
The villa was taken over by Allied occupying forces at the end of the Second World War and later suffered years of neglect, becoming a haven for drug users, homeless people and vandals, as Mussolini’s legacy remained controversial.