The Villa Of Director Alfio Clatabiano For Sale In Rome

Situated on a pleasant hill in the Castelli Romani area, in Grottaferrata, 15 minutes from Rome, this distinctive villa for sale is surrounded by vineyards and valleys with forests. This 2,500-sqm villa was designed by Alfio Caltabiano, a famous director and actor of the golden years of Italian cinema, to be used as his private home. The villa, built in the style of the ancient Roman domus, is surrounded by 1.6 hectares of garden enriched by a huge swimming pool, fountains, bas-reliefs and a panoramic terrace from which one can enjoy an enchanting view of Rome as far as the sea.

The villa is the result of the artistic ingenuity of Alfio Caltabiano, a well-known master-at-arms and director of numerous costume and action films between the 1960s and 1970s. A multifaceted and creative character, Alfio Caltabiano began the construction of this monumental work in 1966 with the vision of reviving the splendour of the ancient Romans in a truly unique location. From 1975 to 1990, the building was extended on the ground floor. Today the property is used to host exclusive events, private receptions, film shoots, fashion shows and photo shoots.

Upon entering the property, one is struck by the entrance forecourt, paved with travertine cladding and fine marble, including onyx and antique red, with original decorations. The forecourt is enclosed along its entire length by ten ornamental fountains in marble and travertine, surmounted by wrought-iron lampposts, at the centre of which are ten travertine seats. The 1,000 square metre panoramic terrace, which offers a wonderful view of Rome, is adorned with enchanting decorations, starting with a Pompeiana surrounding it with forty fluted peperino columns topped by chestnut beams. The floor is finely covered in travertine and marble with numerous geometric decorations. The lighting is studied down to the smallest detail with around fifty wrought-iron street lamps with soft lighting and other light points, including floodlights in the beautiful swimming pool. Everywhere there are stone friezes and bas-reliefs personally sculpted by Alfio Caltabiano. The walls of the entire building are clad with peperino blocks of various shapes and workmanship.

This villa was built taking inspiration from the Roman architecture of the domus, a typical stately home of wealthy patrician families. Inside, a fairytale setting opens up, large rooms in which the beauty of the mosaics and the charm of the 17th-century frescoed ceilings, ancient stuccoes, fireplaces and furnishings seem to revive the splendour of past eras.

Entering through the main entrance door, three finely furnished rooms paved with 18th-century Tuscan terracotta tiles open up: the ancient hall, the staircase room and the fireplace room. On the walls of these rooms are antique Capodimonte ceramics with depictions of rock life, wooden frames and wrought-iron chandeliers. Valuable antiques stand out in these rooms: an 18th-century walnut boiserie, which lines the walls, a mid-16th-century Vignola fireplace, and a frescoed 17th-century false ceiling from an abandoned rectory. 

From the ancient hallway and the fireplace room, one enters the striking main hall on two levels. On the first, there are terracottas from the feudal era and a travertine altar made and sculpted by Alfio Caltabiano. Descending the stairs, on the second level is a reproduction of an impluvium typical of the ancient Domus Romana, and under a skylight finely decorated in wrought iron and copper is a wind rose in polychrome marble, surrounded by a travertine base with bas-reliefs from which rise four majestic fluted travertine columns. All around, on the ground, are polychrome marble mosaics that evoke the decorative motifs used by the ancient Romans, primarily the Gordian knot. The salon is further embellished with wrought-iron lamps, a hand-carved walnut ceiling, reproductions of period stuccoes and frescoes, hand-inlaid walnut tables and chairs, and terracotta niches made using the opus reticulatum technique. This room is served by two kitchens: one in antique style with hand-carved marble sinks, the other modern, authorised as a dining room. The villa then leads into various finely furnished and decorated hallways, four beautiful bathrooms and a unique private room.

A monumental staircase leads down to the location's second building, a majestic room of approximately 1,000 sqm, ideally subdivided by a full-scale reproduction of a Roman aqueduct, with wide arches covered in period terracotta bricks. There are three main rooms in this unmistakable open space. A reception hall, accessed through an imposing travertine portal reminiscent of the façade of a pagan temple, inside are mosaic niches reproducing scenes of ancient Roman banquets. The aqueduct courtyard is lined with a hand-crafted flint floor and adorned with niches, stone and wrought-iron tables, marble vases and an ancient Roman altar. And finally, a room ideal for meetings and gala dinners, 6 metres high, lined with pink marble walls and marble floors, in the centre of which is a depiction of the earth and solar system, designed by Alfio Caltabiano. The room is illuminated by seven round wrought-iron windows measuring approximately 4 metres. Serving the hall is a stage of approximately 60 sqm, also covered with marble flooring.

Next to the stage of this hall, passing through an ancient doorway, one enters the last building of about 230 sqm. On the first floor is the private dwelling composed of an approximately 80-sqm living room, divided by an arch covered in terracotta and peperino tiles, a 50-sqm kitchen adorned with 18th-century Neapolitan period ceramics, marble sinks, walnut countertops, appliances set in peperino stone. The kitchen, living room and other hallways are paved in terracotta with bas-reliefs sculpted by Alfio Caltabiano. Also on the first floor are three bedrooms finely furnished with antiques and parquet floors, each with its own bathroom. On the second floor, there is a 90-square metre suite finely furnished and with a spacious bathroom complete with an Iacuzzi bathtub. From the suite, there is a breathtaking view of Rome. A 117-sqm gym, two dressing rooms, two make-up rooms, and 9 bathrooms complete the property.