Villa Cavalletti

Villa Cavalletti stands on a hill above Grottaferrata, combining a historic country residence with an estate where early Latin burials were discovered. Its architecture and archaeological background represent very different periods of the Alban Hills.

Why it matters

The villa belongs to the history of Tuscolan estates associated with Roman aristocratic and ecclesiastical patronage. The necropolis adds evidence of settlement and burial many centuries before the villa's creation.

What to notice

Ionic peperino columns frame the entrance portal beneath a broken pediment bearing the Cavalletti arms. The house has a compact body with later additions, while pedimented windows and an elaborate staircase mark phases of enlargement. The park and former vineyard ground provide the wider setting of the estate.

Context and history

Cardinal Bartolomeo Cesi owned the property in the 1590s before the Cavalletti acquired it in 1596. The family retained and enlarged the residence over several centuries. It later passed to the Jesuits and acquired educational and institutional uses. Vineyard planting in 1902 revealed a protohistoric cemetery with cremation burials and objects including hut-shaped urns, adding an archaeological chapter beneath the later estate landscape.