Description
The Roman Villa Doria Pamphili bought and greatly enlarged by Pamfilio Pamphili in 1630 was built with the intention of displaying the Pamphili collection of ancient and modern sculptures and other Roman antiquities such as vases, sarcophagi and inscriptions. The family and guests lived in the original Villa Vecchia or ‘old villa’. In 1644, Cardinal Giambattista Pamphili was elected pope and took the name of Innocent X and the sculptor Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654) was commissioned to create a grand villa with elaborate gardens. In the villa grounds, Algardi and his studio executed sculpture-encrusted fountains and other garden features, where some of his free-standing sculpture and bas-reliefs remain. The villa now is the largest landscaped park in Rome. These three engravings are from Giovanni Battista Falda’s Fontana di Roma the earliest record of the fountains of Rome.
