The False Ruins of Villa Torlonia: the Nymphaeum

Abstract

This essay deals with a singular construction built by Giovanni Battista Caretti in the garden of Villa Torlonia in Rome, between 1800 and 1830. The so-called “ruin of nymphaeum”, the only surviving part of a composite system of ruins, built for Alessandro Torlonia, has not, until now, been the object of any exhaustive study which could clarify historic and design aspects, and furthermore, characterize this particular class of folies. The essay analyses the building with the help of accurate measurements. A lack of archival documents did not prevent the author proposing some interesting theses on the method

of construction and the possible models of reference, also in relation to the antiquarian culture of the architect (who was also the architect of the Gallery of Ercole and Lira in the destroyed Palazzo Torlonia in piazza Venezia). Particular attention is paid to the spolia which were re-used in the ruin, among which, a part from the original complex of statues (classified by Carlo Gasparri and now displayed in the museum of the Casino dei Principi), two large fragments of a Domitian cornice, and a group of 15th century consoles, probably from the studio of Andrea Bregno, all stand out. The specific characteristics of these fragments suggest that they originate from the antiques collection of the Colonna family, a collection, the importance of which is documented by some previously unknown archival documents cited in the essay.