The villa changed hands a number of times until 1598, when Pope Clement VIII donated it to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, his beloved nephew. The cardinal deemed it not grand enough to match his ambitions, and consequently had it rebuilt by the architect Giacomo Della Porta, who turned it in to the imposing residence we see today.

 

The new stately complex was frescoed among others by the Zuccari’s and the Cavalier d’Arpino. Carlo Maderno and Giovanni Fontana were then commissioned to complete the creation of the garden, and particularly the waterworks or nymphaeum.

 

In the large niches of the nympheum’s exedra stand the fountains and sculptural creations (whose complex symbolism is tied in with the myth of Hercules) whose water play has aroused boundless admiration in visitors of all times, while in a side room off the nymphaeum itself there is a hall dedicated to Apollo, also known as the Hall of Muses.

 

The villa has welcomed at its guests many popes and cardinals, royalty and literati, including Torquato Tasso and Goethe.