The Villa Adele is a 17th century palace in Anzio and is the seat of both the Archaeological Museum and the city’s Museo dello Sbarco. Another part of the building houses government offices, while the grounds of the building have been converted into a public park.
Villa Adele Anzio
Useful information
Address: Via di Villa Adele, 9 – 00042 Anzio. Opening hours: From 07:00 till 19:30.
History and description
The Villa Adele was built in the 17th century. Over the years, the building has belonged to several families, including the Cesi, the Pamphili and the Borghese. The Sala delle Conchiglie is used as an exhibition space and conference center. It also houses the Public Library.
In 1594, Pope Clement VIII commissioned Monsignor Bartolomeo Cesi to rescue Anzio from the poverty prevailing at the time. Cesi immediately began construction of a villa. During the necessary excavations, he found a number of historical artifacts that made himself considerably richer.
Cesi also had a number of factories built and arranged for older buildings in the city to be restored.
Several generations later, the Villa was sold to Camillo Pamphili. The new owners changed the name to Villa Casino Pamphiliano di Capo d’Anzio. At the behest of Pope Innocent XII, the Pamphili also sought to restore the ancient port of Nero and the city’s economy.
Through the marriage of Giovanni Andrea Doria III to Anna Pamphili (1763), the Doria gained control of the villa.
After Olimpia Aldobrandini married Paolo Borghese, the Borghese acquired several possessions in Nettuno and Anzio. One of these possessions was the Villa, which by now had come to be called Villa Doria Pamphili.
The Villa eventually came to be called Villa Adele, after the name of Francesco Borghese’s bride.
After the Borghese covered the courtyard to create the Sala delle Conchigle (“Hall of the Shells”), they were forced to sell the building to the Banca d’Italia.
After an interim period when the Poli owned the building to turn it into the Hotel Excelsior, the Banca d’Italia got the Villa back.
After several rapidly succeeding changes in ownership, it finally became property of the city of Anzio itself in 1964. It was then turned into a school with a public park.