The Coppedé neighborhood in Rome is not an official district, but only a (very) small part of the quartiere Trieste. It is however so markedly different from the rest of the area that one may well speak of a separate neighborhood, which was also the intention of the architect, Gino Coppedé. Highlights are the Fountain of the Frogs and the Villino delle Fate.
Coppedé Neighborhood Rome
History and description
Coppedé is really not more than some 40 buildings in the streets that center on the Piazza Mincio, the main square of the district. This square in itself is also really not more than a roundabout with a fountain, the Fountain of the Frogs, in the middle.
It is best to enter the area through the Via Dora, a narrow street with an arch connecting the houses on each side. Below the arch hangs a large and rather impressive wrought iron lamp.
The buildings Coppedé designed seem to have been taken directly from a fairytale and are therefore often used in movies. A.o. the Italian director Dario Argento has used the buildings in some of his films. It also works the other way around: The entrance of the palazzo at Piazza Mincio n.2 is itself a perfect reproduction of a hallway in the movie Cabiria (1914).
Villino delle Fate
The Villino delle Fate (Piazza Mincio, 3) is one of the most striking buildings of the area. The architect built it between 1920 and 1927. It really consists of three buildings built back to back and surrounded by a small garden. The floor at the Piazza Mincio entrance is a round mosaic of three female musicians in Roman attire playing the lyre, the guitar and singing. The three fairies symbolize the three buildings themselves. The Villino delle Fate is completely a-symmetrical, with arches and friezes made of various types of material, including marble, terracotta, brick and glass.