The Owner’s Picks

“The luxury master bedroom, with the antique fireplace, has a bed that is bigger than a super king size (a Caesar size bed!), a large, contemporary en-suite bathroom with a walk-in-shower, its own lovely terrace and its dressing rooms. Upstairs there are two further beautiful en-suite bedrooms, as well as three more bedrooms that share two modern bathrooms between them.

The upper floor opens onto a delightful garden with an ancient Roman archaeological area, complete with garden furniture, parasols and lights. Here you can find the swimming pool, under olive trees, close to the vegetable patch and the yoga platform.

There are several areas for outdoor eating under spectacular Roman pine trees. A ping-pong table is available to our guests.

On the ground floor, which can be reached from a ceramic and travertine marble staircase, there are two large reception rooms, each with a marble and stone fireplace, travertine marble floors, and high vaulted ceilings. One of the reception rooms, boasting two ancient Egyptians columns with Roman capitals, can be used as a dining or sitting room.

There is a very spacious kitchen, with a professional 'Ilve' gas cooker, and a large electric thermo-convection oven ideal for cooking at very high levels.

The kitchen, with a vaulted ceiling, has a gorgeous fireplace perfect for roasting food and sitting around sipping a glass of good wine. There is a big cellar made to be filled with delicious wines, stacked up against its 4th century wall.Part of the cellar also functions as a utility room with two large fridges, a sink, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer.

The rear kitchen door opens onto a functioning bread/pizza oven and a small fountain.The pizza-oven corner is covered by an awning and it is flood-lit. It has a seating area designed for fun evenings families and their children making pizza together under the guidance of our expert pizzaiolo. We can provide all the ingredients as well as the 'pizzaiolo' for making your favourite  pizza!

Behind the kitchen there is a further single bedroom, with its own shower room (and separate entrance by the pizza oven). This could be used as an extra room for a young person, a nanny or a yoga teacher.

The lower garden is wonderful, with a patio and portico that allow for outdoor dining, and entertaining, dancing, or listening to music. At one end of the large patio there is a large built-in brick barbecue and a fountain, garden lights and space for entertaining for up to 100 people.

All around there are fruit trees and wonderfully secluded areas of the garden.

Own car is recommended. However, there is also public transport, two buses, 5 minutes walk away, and two train stations, one at Settebagni (the train reaches the Stazione Tiburtina in 20 minutes, and from there there is the connection to the Rome Metro or trains to all parts of Italy), the other from Saxa Rubra directly to Piazzale Flaminio and Piazza del Popolo. Both stations are only 7 minutes drive away.

You will benefit from hiring a car so as to drive into Rome centre along the Via Salaria (Flaminia or Cassia) in only 15 minutes. Or you may choose to drive for 7 minutes to the nearest train stations that lead into Rome centre and connect to the metro service. 

As a former curator and art historian I love telling the history of the Villa and, with my partner, who is a trained historian and a journalist, we love offering tours of Rome and its museums.”

Marina Wallace, owner of Villa il Cardinale