Archaeological Site:
The Villa Borghese Park

Domus Daini is located between the Pinciano district and the Parioli neighborhood and is part of an elegant and refined living environment, a stone’s throw from Villa Borghese and its Parco dei Daini.

The monuments of Villa Borghese

Since the 17th century, Villa Borghese has been one of the largest archaeological sites in Rome, with an area of about 80 hectares and 8 entrances. It owes its name to the first residence of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Built in the 600s and transformed into a museum in 1900, it has housed masterpieces by the likes of Raffaello, Tiziano, Canova, Bernini and Caravaggio.

Among its vast gardens and terraces, Villa Borghese contains numerous historic buildings, including the Meridiana and its secret gardens, the Casino del Graziano, the Casino Giustiniani and the Uccelliera.
The neoclassical buildings it houses, like the Casino dell’Orologio, the Fortezzuola or the Garden of the lake, on whose artificial island stands the Greek temple of Aesculapius, offer suggestive views. The temple can also be reached with short boat trips.

VILLA BORGHESE ROMA DOMUS DAINI
VILLA BORGHESE ROMA DOMUS DAINI

Villa Borghese Museum and services

Inside the park, it is possible to find numerous facilities converted to structures for the leisure time: the Orangery has now become a museum, just like the studio and house of the artist Pietro Canonica. The Casino di Raffaello is now a playroom and the Casa delle Rose has become the House of Cinema. Equally important are the Zoo (Bioparco), the equestrian center and the Globe Theatre of Gigi Proietti, staging Shakespearean plays.

Villa Borghese is a Roman green area with the most significant artistic and landscape testimonies, such as sculptures, buildings, and fountains from the Baroque to the Neoclassical style. For this reason and for the large concentration of cultural institutes, the archaeological site is also called the “Museum Park.” On the other hand, for its shape and the concentration of green areas, it is called “the heart of Rome.”

The Villa, located at a strategic point of the city and conveniently connected to the panoramic terrace of the Pincio, allows you to observe the center of Rome from its balconies and to catch breathtaking sunsets over the Vatican City and the historic streets of the Eternal City.

This same view can be enjoyed from every single balcony, terrace and penthouse of Domus Daini.

Villa Borghese
Museum and services

Inside the park, it is possible to find numerous facilities converted to structures for the leisure time: the Orangery has now become a museum, just like the studio and house of the artist Pietro Canonica. The Casino di Raffaello is now a playroom and the Casa delle Rose has become the House of Cinema. Equally important are the Zoo (Bioparco), the equestrian center and the Globe Theatre of Gigi Proietti, staging Shakespearean plays.

Villa Borghese is a Roman green area with the most significant artistic and landscape testimonies, such as sculptures, buildings, and fountains from the Baroque to the Neoclassical style. For this reason and for the large concentration of cultural institutes, the archaeological site is also called the “Museum Park.” On the other hand, for its shape and the concentration of green areas, it is called “the heart of Rome.”

The Villa, located at a strategic point of the city and conveniently connected to the panoramic terrace of the Pincio, allows you to observe the center of Rome from its balconies and to catch breathtaking sunsets over the Vatican City and the historic streets of the Eternal City.

This same view can be enjoyed from every single balcony, terrace and penthouse of Domus Daini.

VILLA BORGHESE ROMA DOMUS DAINI

Parco dei Daini:
The park of perspectives.

Parco dei Daini, from which the adjacent Domus Daini takes its name, also called “park of perspectives”, was a green area reserved to the prince. Its avenues are bordered by the colossal Herms of Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Its name is due to the presence of deers and gazelles right in these areas until the end of the 19th century.

PARCO DEI DAINI ROMA DOMUS DAINI

The history of
Villa Borghese.

The Pincian villa was completed around 1633, the date of the death of Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese, who had started its construction. It underwent numerous changes and interventions over the years, including the construction of the lake garden and Piazza di Siena, after 1766. In this period, precious buildings and furnishings were added to the gardens: the Temple of Aesculapius, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the Temple of Diana, and the fountain of the Sea Horses.

These interventions were commissioned by Prince Marcantonio IV, who was succeeded by his son Camillo, who then married Paolina Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister. It was Camillo who initiated the expansion of Villa Borghese, later completed by his brother Francesco. In 1800, the Villa was opened to the public for festive strolls and became the scene of spectacular events. Subsequently, Villa Borghese was opened with an admission fee for the entertainments offered to the public: the velodrome in Piazza di Siena, boat trips on the lake (which are still possible) or the restaurant at the Casino dell’Orologio.

After the unification of Italy, the Italian State claimed possession of the Villa and bought it in 1901. In 1903 the park was sold to the Municipality of Rome and finally opened to the public. Since 1911 numerous new entrances to the park were opened, including the one located in via Pietro Raimondi, the Roman road that also houses the entrance to Domus Daini.

PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DOMUS DAINI

Domus Daini’s
Archeological Site

In the Roman age, the site was part of the Sepolcreto Salario, an area which was used for the burial of people of all social classes from the Republican period to the 4th century AD. Over one hundred burials have been excavated: the earliest ones mostly feature cinerary urns, roughly 60 of which were found in a columbarium. In later periods the most widespread kind of burial is a grave dug into the ground and covered with sloping tiles: the so-called “a cappuccina” burial.

Domus Daini’s
Archeological Site

In the Roman age, the site was part of the Sepolcreto Salario, an area which was used for the burial of people of all social classes from the Republican period to the 4th century AD. Over one hundred burials have been excavated: the earliest ones mostly feature cinerary urns, roughly 60 of which were found in a columbarium. In later periods the most widespread kind of burial is a grave dug into the ground and covered with sloping tiles: the so-called “a cappuccina” burial.

PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DOMUS DAINI