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Villa Medici
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The French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici is a French public institution under the authority of the French Ministry of Culture. Founded over 350 years ago, it is a residence for artists, authors and researchers; an art and research center with a multi-faceted program (exhibitions, festivals, concerts, symposia); and a heritage site open to visitors.
The most Italian of French institutions and the most French of Roman villas!
From yesterday
The French Academy in Rome was created in 1666 by Louis XIV, to send young artists who had won the Prix de Rome (a competition set up by Colbert three years earlier) to Rome, where they would perfect their training in contact with the masterpieces of Antiquity and the Renaissance. After successively occupying several Roman palaces, including the Palazzo Mancini, in 1803 the Academy moved permanently to Villa Medici, a Renaissance palace on the Pincio hill, named after its most famous owner: cardinale Ferdinando de’ Medici (1549-1609). In the 1960s, the Academy’s operations were radically transformed under the impetus of Balthus, then director of the institution, appointed on the initiative of André Malraux, Minister of Culture.
To today
The French Academy in Rome has three complementary missions:
- French and international francophone artists, authors and researchers in residence
- offer the public a multidisciplinary artistic program
- conserve, restore, study and promote its rich heritage of buildings and landscapes
on its 7 hectares of gardens, as well as its collections of over 5,000 works of art
Added to these is the cross-cutting mission of welcoming a wide audience and implementing outreach and educational initiatives designed to ensure equal access to culture for all.
A story from ancient sources
The story
From the palace of the Roman general Lucullus and later Emperor Honorius, to the Renaissance villa of cardinale Ferdinando de' Medici, and finally the headquarters of the French Academy in Rome from 1803, you can follow the history of Villa Medici.
THE PLACE
Villa Medici, located on the Pincio hill, overlooks Rome's historic center on one side, and opens onto 7 hectares of gardens on the other. An architectural masterpiece of the Renaissance, Villa Medici is the result of a succession of interventions and alterations that today make it unique.
French Academy in Rome
Welcoming fellows and residents, offering a varied cultural program, and preserving and promoting its heritage: these are the three missions of the French Academy in Rome.
Collections
Villa Medici collections include several thousand items dating from the 17th century to the present day, a legacy of its history and successive functions, first as the prestigious residence of Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici and now as the location of the French Academy in Rome.
