The Swiss Institute of Rome (ISR) is a private law foundation created by the Swiss Confederation in 1947 with the task of promoting scientific and artistic exchange between Switzerland and Italy.
Its main office is located in Villa Maraini in Rome, donated to the Confederation in 1946 by the countess of Lugano origin Carolina Maraini-Sommaruga.
Jewel of the early twentieth century, Villa Maraini is located in the Ludovisi district on the top of an artificial hill - in a plot of land at the time used as a deposit for the excavation material of today's Via Ludovisi and debris - and is surrounded by a splendid garden with cave-shaped nymphaeum.
It was built between 1903 and 1905 by the Ticino architect Otto Maraini for his brother Emilio, a successful industrialist, known for having introduced the production of sugar obtained from beets to Italy. The construction is inspired by the tradition of suburban villas with gardens, such as Villa Medici or Villa Borghese, and looks like a monumental and elegant building of eclectic taste with neo-baroque elements.
The interiors are still today magnificently enriched with precious marbles, stuccos and frescoes, even if part of the original decoration has been lost. The distinctive sign of the villa is the Torre Belvedere, 26 meters high, slightly lower than the dome of St. Peter's in the Vatican. From its terrace, with balustrades, corner vases and an elaborate central wind vane, you can enjoy a splendid panoramic view over all of Rome.
At the behest of the owner's widow, Countess Carolina Maraini-Sommaruga, the villa passed to the Swiss Confederation in 1947: the mandate expressed on the occasion of the donation was that the villa be "perpetually at the service of culture, in the sign of collaboration between Switzerland and Italy ".
Today it is the seat of the Swiss Institute of Rome, which promotes scientific and artistic exchange between Switzerland and Italy, as well as welcoming young Swiss artists and scholars every year. The Institute regularly organizes guided tours inside the villa.
ISR - The Swiss Institute of Rome - Villa Maraini
Address: Via Ludovisi, 48, 00187
Phone: 06 420421
Site:
http://www.istitutosvizzero.it/Location inserted by
Andrea Squarcia