Until now very few could see the halls of the Villa Medici, the splendid palace of the French Academy in Rome, between the Spanish Steps and the Villa Borghese gardens. What's more: they were completely empty, despite the fact that the residence is the home of the scholars who have spent 350 years researching and perfecting their art in this retreat. Until now. This weekend, Villa Medici has opened to the public in a timely manner to inaugurate the restoration of its precious halls, by the hand of the Roman luxury house Fendi, which once again participates in a new initiative for the heritage of the eternal city . Afterwards, they can only be seen at designated events.
There are six rooms, one of them for the exclusive use of the scholarship holders, which are now decorated with thirteen modern tapestries, including one by Eduardo Chillida who is the star of the renovated Grand Salon, dedicated to concerts. They wanted to follow in the footsteps of the French painter Balthus, who in 1961, when he was director of Villa Medici, began restoration work inspired by the Renaissance model but combining it with contemporary proposals. Another source of inspiration is the city of Rome itself, with tables that evoke the Ancient Appian Way and its irregular cobblestones.
"Reopening the most prestigious halls is a new renaissance for Villa Medici following the spirit of Balthus, of dialogue between heritage and contemporary creation that reminds us that this is something that happens every day in a residence of creators", stressed the director of the academy, Sam Stourdzé, who was the one who brought in Fendi's artistic directors Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi for the project. Louis XIV established this academy for creators in Rome, but it was Napoleon who moved it to Villa Medici, as a symbol of French power on the hill, with the Vatican in the background.
