The Comune di Roma expropriated and opened the Villa Torlonia complex to the public by in 1978. The park was used straight away but the precarious conditions of the buildings involved long and costly repairs.
Villa Torlonia was restored over a number of years. The Casina delle Civette, restored and opened to the public, became a Museum. Located in an isolated position in the Villa, far from the larger buildings, the Casina was abandoned and degenerated because of the fragility of its structures.
Restoring was difficult for at least two reasons:
• serious degeneration of its architecture
• because there were decorations on almost all the structures of different artistic styles, ranging from the multi-coloured glass works to engraved wood, wrought iron, murals, mosaics and sculptured marble.
This last point involved the work of many different experts to be agreed upon constantly. This building had also been designed as a private luxurious residence and had to be transformed into a Museum with all the resulting problems concerning its later use.
The various departments of the Comune had to work closely together: the Opere Pubbliche who was responsible for restoring the architecture; the Politiche Culturali, the Sovrintendenze ai Beni Culturali who had planned restoration and had seen to all the artistic restoring, design and construction of the Museum.
Problems caused by restoring the Casina further arrived from building over a small structure, covering at least three periods in history from the 18th to the present century. In 1840, the Casina was built by the famous Venetian architect Giuseppe Jappelli in the form of a Swiss chalet, roughly covered in volcanic tuff. In 1908, Prince Giovanni Torlonia decided to live there and asked the architect Gennai to extend and transform it into a medieval construction. Immediately afterwards, the Annex was renovated to go with the main building, to be used to house guests.
In the period from 1916 to 1920, it was changed again for the last time on a project by the architect Vincenzo Fasolo who added loggias and porticos, enriching the perspectives and the architectonic elements with decorations. Together with the architectonic changes, without changing the style, the whole complex was decorated with painted murals, mosaics on the floors, stucco work, tiles and above all numerous multi-coloured glass works, joined with lead with complex and fascinating designs. Many decorations had figures of owls, hence this name.
When the Prince died in 1939, the Casina was abandoned and from 1944 to 1947, the entire Villa Torlonia was occupied by the Anglo-American military command who caused irreparable damage. Because of the fragility of its structures and its decorations, the Casina delle Civette was affected most. When, in 1978, the Villa was purchased by the Comune di Roma, the Casina delle Civette was almost a ruin.
In the restored building, today very close to its original form, there is a Museum unique of its kind, because of the material used and the original style of the Casina. The Casina delle Civette is a Museum of Roman eclecticism, whose periods and evolution may be seen both because the architectonic structures are overlaid, flowing and articulated and the decorations appear in colours mixed in no apparent order.
Its main characteristic is shown in the whole range of the glass windows decorating the numerous doors and windows, made of precious many-coloured glass joined together with lead. In these works you can see refined geometrical compositions depicting various floral subjects, sometimes ordinary otherwise elegant creations of original design.
All the glass windows created between 1908 and 1930 offer a unique collection and help you to understand how the art of glass working in Rome during those years was born and developed. Duilio Cambellotti, Paolo Paschetto, Vittorio Grassi and Umberto Bottazzi are among some of the famous artists of the time.
To complete such an important and imposing place during these years (there are 44 figures and the same number of geometrical designs), the Sovrintendenza Comunale purchased a number of other glass works created by the same artists and also numerous drawings and sketches, some of which were intended solely for the glass works of the Casina delle Civette.
The way winding through the Casina along its rooms (through a myriad of glass works but also painted murals, stucco work, mosaics and woodwork) surround and adorn the visitor’s path by 17 glass works and 105 sketches and cartoons, playing a game back and forth between diverse and fascinating techniques.
Cambellotti created some of the most beautiful and important glass windows in the Casina, for example the ‘Chiodo’ named after its shape – a large glass window with a cascade of leaves and bunches of grapes, the ‘Civetta’, stylized portrayals of the night bird whose presence are almost everywhere in Casina decorations and the ‘Migratori’ series with dynamic flights of birds. Other interesting glass works are those of Paolo Paschetto, ten of the ‘Rose e Farfalle’ series.
Close by, further glass works of Cambellotti have been purchased and displayed; some glass making tests and a very beautiful tondo with the fascinating portrayal of the ‘Tata’, a very beautiful young girl, in delicate shades of light blue.
‘I Pavoni’ also deserve mention – this is a splendid glass work by Bottazzi shown at the Glass Exhibition in 1912 first disappeared and then found again recently. It was purchased by a private collector together with the beautiful glass works of Paschetto for his house in Rome. There is also a glass window called ‘Ali’, showing feathered wings moving in perspective.
In this Museum you can wind your way through the history of glass works: an art considered and respected little and often placed among the lesser arts. For the first time, this Museum highlights all the potential on the borderline between arts and crafts.
HOURS:The Comune di Roma expropriated and opened the Villa Torlonia complex to the public by in 1978. The park was used straight away but the precarious conditions of the buildings involved long and costly repairs.
Villa Torlonia was restored over a number of years. The Casina delle Civette, restored and opened to the public, became a Museum. Located in an isolated position in the Villa, far from the larger buildings, the Casina was abandoned and degenerated because of the fragility of its structures.
Restoring was difficult for at least two reasons:
• serious degeneration of its architecture
• because there were decorations on almost all the structures of different artistic styles, ranging from the multi-coloured glass works to engraved wood, wrought iron, murals, mosaics and sculptured marble.
This last point involved the work of many different experts to be agreed upon constantly. This building had also been designed as a private luxurious residence and had to be transformed into a Museum with all the resulting problems concerning its later use.
The various departments of the Comune had to work closely together: the Opere Pubbliche who was responsible for restoring the architecture; the Politiche Culturali, the Sovrintendenze ai Beni Culturali who had planned restoration and had seen to all the artistic restoring, design and construction of the Museum.
Problems caused by restoring the Casina further arrived from building over a small structure, covering at least three periods in history from the 18th to the present century. In 1840, the Casina was built by the famous Venetian architect Giuseppe Jappelli in the form of a Swiss chalet, roughly covered in volcanic tuff. In 1908, Prince Giovanni Torlonia decided to live there and asked the architect Gennai to extend and transform it into a medieval construction. Immediately afterwards, the Annex was renovated to go with the main building, to be used to house guests.
In the period from 1916 to 1920, it was changed again for the last time on a project by the architect Vincenzo Fasolo who added loggias and porticos, enriching the perspectives and the architectonic elements with decorations. Together with the architectonic changes, without changing the style, the whole complex was decorated with painted murals, mosaics on the floors, stucco work, tiles and above all numerous multi-coloured glass works, joined with lead with complex and fascinating designs. Many decorations had figures of owls, hence this name.
When the Prince died in 1939, the Casina was abandoned and from 1944 to 1947, the entire Villa Torlonia was occupied by the Anglo-American military command who caused irreparable damage. Because of the fragility of its structures and its decorations, the Casina delle Civette was affected most. When, in 1978, the Villa was purchased by the Comune di Roma, the Casina delle Civette was almost a ruin.
In the restored building, today very close to its original form, there is a Museum unique of its kind, because of the material used and the original style of the Casina. The Casina delle Civette is a Museum of Roman eclecticism, whose periods and evolution may be seen both because the architectonic structures are overlaid, flowing and articulated and the decorations appear in colours mixed in no apparent order.
Its main characteristic is shown in the whole range of the glass windows decorating the numerous doors and windows, made of precious many-coloured glass joined together with lead. In these works you can see refined geometrical compositions depicting various floral subjects, sometimes ordinary otherwise elegant creations of original design.
All the glass windows created between 1908 and 1930 offer a unique collection and help you to understand how the art of glass working in Rome during those years was born and developed. Duilio Cambellotti, Paolo Paschetto, Vittorio Grassi and Umberto Bottazzi are among some of the famous artists of the time.
To complete such an important and imposing place during these years (there are 44 figures and the same number of geometrical designs), the Sovrintendenza Comunale purchased a number of other glass works created by the same artists and also numerous drawings and sketches, some of which were intended solely for the glass works of the Casina delle Civette.
The way winding through the Casina along its rooms (through a myriad of glass works but also painted murals, stucco work, mosaics and woodwork) surround and adorn the visitor’s path by 17 glass works and 105 sketches and cartoons, playing a game back and forth between diverse and fascinating techniques.
Cambellotti created some of the most beautiful and important glass windows in the Casina, for example the ‘Chiodo’ named after its shape – a large glass window with a cascade of leaves and bunches of grapes, the ‘Civetta’, stylized portrayals of the night bird whose presence are almost everywhere in Casina decorations and the ‘Migratori’ series with dynamic flights of birds. Other interesting glass works are those of Paolo Paschetto, ten of the ‘Rose e Farfalle’ series.
Close by, further glass works of Cambellotti have been purchased and displayed; some glass making tests and a very beautiful tondo with the fascinating portrayal of the ‘Tata’, a very beautiful young girl, in delicate shades of light blue.
‘I Pavoni’ also deserve mention – this is a splendid glass work by Bottazzi shown at the Glass Exhibition in 1912 first disappeared and then found again recently. It was purchased by a private collector together with the beautiful glass works of Paschetto for his house in Rome. There is also a glass window called ‘Ali’, showing feathered wings moving in perspective.
In this Museum you can wind your way through the history of glass works: an art considered and respected little and often placed among the lesser arts. For the first time, this Museum highlights all the potential on the borderline between arts and crafts.
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 | | | II Municipio
Villa Torlonia, Via Nomentana, 70
Tel.: 06 44250072
HOURS:
From the 1st of April to the 30th of September –
9a.m. to 7p.m.
From the 1st of October to the 31st of March – 9a.m. to 5p.m. |  |
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