This incredible palazzo was built on top of a teatro, and it is now for sale! Palazzo Orsini is situated in the centre of Rome, and is currently on the market for £26 million. The palace includes frescoed staterooms, a ballroom, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a library, a dining room, a terrace overlooking the Tiber, a separate penthouse, and cellars which lead to ancient Roman arches. The gardens boast numerous fountains and orange trees. But what is perhaps most special about this property is the fact that the building has been built on top of the Theatre of Marcellus, Teatro di Marcello, a stone and marble structure from the 1st Century BC that resembles a small Colosseum.
There is good reason for the frenzy and the asking price of this property; it is rare for palazzi to be sold to the public, generally they are kept within the family for centuries. The palace is being sold by the family of Dame Iris Origo, who was famous for her book, War in the Val'd'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, which describes her experience in Italy from 1943-44. Marrying an Italian aristocrat, Antonio Origo, they together bought an estate near Siena, Tuscany, and looked after refugee children, families who had been affected by the war, escaped prisoners of war, and Allied airmen.
She rented and then bought Palazzo Orsini in the 1950’s. Teatro di Marcello was designed to seat 20,000, begun by Julius Caesar, and completed in 11BC by Emperor Augustus, who named it after his favourite nephew. It was abandoned in the 4th Century AD, but was later reconstructed in the Middle Ages, with the removal of the top tier of seating and columns, it was turned into a fortress for the Fabii. Finally, in the 18th Century, the Orsini family built their home upon the travertine blocks of the theatre.
Oh Rome, you are so magnificent. Someone please buy me this.
Oh Rome, you are so magnificent. Someone please buy me this.
