For those who are looking for a little get-away home in Italy, the villa once owned by Carlo Ponti, successful film producer and husband of actress Sophia Loren, is currently for sale in Rome. The magnificent villa is located in the centuries old Appian Way Park, about ten minutes from the Colosseum, in one of the Eternal City’s most beautiful and prestigious areas.
In the 1950s, Carlo Ponti lived in this stunning estate with his family. The biggest names in cinema were guests at the villa including directors Federico Fellini, Vittorio de Sica, Roberto Rossellini and a host of actors and actresses too long to list.
When travelling through the Appian Way Park, no one would imagine the paradise that is hidden behind the boundary walls of the estate. Although there were three entrances to the villa, Carlo had a little quirk; he would usually have his guests enter from the most modest of the three, then show them a room dating back to Roman times with walls and vaults made of huge tuff blocks and mosaic floors depicting Medusa’s head. Alberto Sordi, remembering when he had been a guest of Ponti’s at the villa, decided to set the initial scene of his movie “Un tassinaro a New York” there.
This estate is composed of a two-story main villa, which measures approximately 7,400 square feet and a slightly smaller building measuring 6,500 square feet. On the garden level floor of the main villa, arches connect three rooms with wood-beam ceilings and ornate fireplaces to create a triple living room that opens onto the garden terrace and an outdoor dining area. The floors in this part of the house were refinished using wood from a demolished ship. Other rooms and terraces have original tiles and mosaics. The formal dining room, which used to be an ancient catacomb, is lit by a crystal chandelier and has at its center a mosaic floor with a portrait of Alexander the Great. There is also a less-formal eating area, two vestibules, kitchen, powder room and an apartment. You can enter the upper story of the villa from the main staircase or by its own elevator. On that level, you will find five bedroom suites, a library and a romantic winter garden. Terraces wrap around the parts of the house that overlook the lawn.
The second building was once the stables and has primarily been used for social functions. It has an immense open space with a professional kitchen, dining-living room, two baths and another apartment. There is also an outdoor swimming pool and garages on the 2.4 acres of property. The main villa was built in the 19th century on the ruins of a basalt quarry which was used (from 312 BC) to extract the material used to make Rome’s most famous road, the Appian Way, also known as Regina Viarum (Queen of Roads). The villa was modified several times in the 1950s and completely restored by its current owner, who purchased it from Ponti family in the 1980s. The property is being offered at 19 million euros, but the two properties may also be bought separately.
