The Casino Massimo Lancellotti is located in the Villa Giustiniani Massimo near the Basilica of St. John Lateran in the Esquilino district of Rome. It is currently the seat of the Franciscans of the Holy Land.
Casino Massimo Lancellotti Rome
Address, opening hours and entrance fee
Address: Via Matteo Boiardo, 16 – Rome. The phone number is +39 06 70495651. The Casino can be visited without making a reservation on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 10:00 to 12:00. However, one can make reservations for the other days of the week.
History and Description
The Casino was built at the beginning of the 17th century in what was then called the Villa Giustiniani. It now no longer exists because the entire park has been built over. The Villa was also called Villa Massimo (after its next owners) and covered an area bordered by Via Merulana, Via Tasso, Viale Manzoni and Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano.
The architecture is a good example of the late Mannerist style and is the most important testimony to the artistic activities in Rome of a 19th century group of German artists who called themselves the “Nazarenes.” This group drew its inspiration from Italian early renaissance painting .
The building itself still testifies to the former ownership by the Giustiniani family in the form of antique statues and decorative plasterwork in the shape of eagles. Pamphilj doves are also present here and there.
The interior is graced by frescoes depicting scenes from some of the most famous Italian works of poetry. Dante’s “Paradise,” “Purgatory,” and “Hell” are obviously present, as are Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso” and Tasso’s “Gerusalemme Liberata”.