Villa_Adriana_Accademia_Hadrians_Secret

VILLA ADRIANA
ACCADEMIA
HADRIAN’S SECRET GARDEN
MARINA DE FRANCESCHINI
I.
History of the Excavations,
Ancient Sources
and Antiquarian Studies
from the XV to the XVII Centuries

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Anna Maria Reggiani, Introduction 11
Bernard Frischer, Introduction 13
Urbano Barberini, Presentation 15
Author’s Note 17
Acknowledgements 19
Chapter 1. The Renaissance and Roman antiquity
1. Humanism, Renaissance and Hadrian’s Villa 21
Chapter 2. Hadrian’s Villa in the xv th century:
rediscovery after oblivion
1. The descriptions of the Historia Augusta and of Sextus Aurelius Victor, abandonment and the rediscovery 23
1. 1. 1. Biondo Flavio and Pope Pius II 24
2. The first excavations at Hadrian’s Villa 26
2. 2. 1. The excavation of the Odeon 26
2. 2. 2. The excavation of the Telamons or ‘Cioci di Tivoli’ 28
3. The first drawings of Fra’ Giocondo 30
4. Conclusions 31
Chapter 3. Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
The oldest drawings of the Accademia
1. Biographical notes 33
2. Francesco di Giorgio Martini and Hadrian’s Villa 33
3. The Accademia in the drawings of Francesco di Giorgio Martini 35
3. 3. 1. The plan of the Accademia 35
3. 3. 2. The elevation of the Temple of Apollo 39
4. Conclusions 39
Chapter 4. Hadrian’s Villa in the xvi th century.
Large-scale excavations and early studies
1. The first large-scale excavations 43
1. 1. 1. Excavations in the Accademia 43
1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Excavations of Bindo Altoviti (xvith century) 43
1. 1. 2. Excavations in other parts of the Villa 43
1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. Excavations of Pirro Ligorio for Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este (1550-1568) 43
1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 2. Excavations of Giovan Battista Cappuccini and Biscanti (mid-xvith century) 45
1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. Excavations ‘of Marcantonio Palosi’ (xvith century) 49
1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 4. Excavations ‘of Cardinal Marcello Cervini’ (1535?, 1550?) 49
1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 5. Excavations ‘of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese’ (1535-1538?) 49
1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 6. Excavations ‘of Cardinal Carlo Carafa’ (1540?) 51
2. Plans and drawings of the Accademia and other buildings (xvith century) 53
2. 2. 1. Andrea Palladio (1554 c.) 53
2. 2. 2. Pirro Ligorio (1550 c.) 53
2. 2. 3. Draftsman of the Destailleur Codex (mid-xvith century) 53
2. 2. 4. Giovannantonio Dosio (1563 c.) 53
2. 2. 5. Anonymous Portuguese (or Francisco Castillo?) (1568-1580) 53
2. 2. 6. Giovan Battista Cavalieri (1585) 55
2. 2. 7. Drawings in the Albertina Library at Vienna (xvith century) 55
3. Historical studies of the xvith century 55
3. 3. 1. Pirro Ligorio (1550-1579) 55
3. 3. 2. Giovanni Maria Zappi (1580) 55

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4. 3. 3. Marco Antonio Nicodemi (mid-xvith century) 55
4. 3. 4. Giovanni Maria de’ Bardi, of the Counts of Vernio (end-xvith century) 58
4. Other artists and Hadrian’s Villa 60
5. Appendix: original Italian texts 62
Chapter 5. Bindo Altoviti,
one of the first owners of the Accademia
1. Biographical notes 63
2. The Altoviti and Hadrian’s Villa 64
3. 2. 1. The Altoviti properties in Hadrian’s Villa 64
3. 2. 2. The discoveries of the Altoviti in Hadrian’s Villa 67
3. Conclusions 68
Chapter 6. Andrea Palladio.
Looking for perfect proportions
1. Biographical notes 69
2. Andrea Palladio and Hadrian’s Villa 71
3. The Accademia in the plan by Palladio 72
4. Conclusions 75
Chapter 7. Pirro Ligorio,
great antiquarian and first scholar
1. Biographical notes 77
2. Pirro Ligorio, Tivoli and the Villa d’Este 80
3. Pirro Ligorio and Hadrian’s Villa 81
3. 3. 1. The Codices of Ligorio 81
3. 3. 2. The descriptions of Hadrian’s Villa in the Codices of Ligorio 82
3. 3. 3. The drawings for the general plan of Hadrian’s Villa 83
3. 3. 4. What happened to the plans of Hadrian’s Villa drawn by Ligorio? 84
4. The plan of the Accademia (1560) 85
5. The elevation of the Temple of Apollo [Ac78] 91
6. The Accademia in the description of the Codice di Torino 91
7. Conclusions 97
7. 7. 1. Summary on the Accademia 99
8. Appendix: 1. Ligorio’s original Italian text 99
8. Appendix: 2. Text of Ligorio on his excavations in other buildings of Hadrian’s Villa 100
8. Appendix: 3. Text of Ligorio mentioning his plan of Hadrian’s Villa 101
8. Appendix: 4. Letters of Athanasius Kircher on Ligorio’s documents in the Barberini archive 101
8. Appendix: 5. Letter of Ambassador Ludovico d’Agliè to Cardinal Francesco Barberini about the drawings of Ligorio sold
after his death 101
Chapter 8. Ippolito II d’Este, Cardinal of Ferrara.
The magnificentia in Tivoli
1. Biographical notes 103
2. Ippolito II, Tivoli and Hadrian’s Villa 104
Chapter 9. The Accademia in the xvi th -century drawings.
A stucco ceiling and a mosaic
1. Three drawings of a stucco ceiling 109
2. Stucco ceiling 110
3. 2. 1. Conclusions on the ceiling, comparing the drawings 111
3. Mosaic floor 112
4. The Accademia stucco ceiling as model for Renaissance decoration 114
4. 4. 1. Giovanni da Udine, ceiling in Venice (before 1527) 114
4. 4. 2. Luzio Romano, ceiling in Castel Sant’Angelo (before 1544-1545) 115
4. 4. 3. Camillo Filippi, ceiling in Ferrara, Palazzina of Marfisa d’Este (after 1559) 116
5. Conclusions 116

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Chapter 10. Hadrian’s Villa in the xvii th century.
A new general plan and many small excavations
1. The owners of Hadrian’s Villa in the xviith century 117
1. 1. 1. North-east and central area of the Villa 117
1. 1. 2. Central area of the Villa 117
1. 1. 3. South and west area of the Villa 117
2. The excavations of the xviith century 121
3. 2. 1. Excavations in the Accademia 121
2. 2. 1. 2. 1. 1. Excavations of Giovanni Giacomo and Giovan Francesco Bulgarini (1630 c.) 121
3. 2. 1. Excavations in the rest of the Villa 121
2. 2. 1. 2. 2. 1. Excavations of Francesco Contini (after 1634) 121
2. 2. 1. 2. 2. 2. Excavations of Camillo Arcucci for Cardinal Francesco Barberini (xviith century?) 121
2. 2. 1. 2. 2. 3. Excavations of the Jesuit fathers (mid-xviith century) 122
2. 2. 1. 2. 2. 4. Excavations of Giovanni Maria Baratta (xviith century) 125
2. 2. 1. 2. 2. 5. Excavations in the Maritime Theatre? 126
2. 2. 1. 2. 2. 6. Anonymous excavation of 1655 126
3. Plans and drawings of the xviith century 126
3. 3. 1. Contini’s ‘clean copy’ of the plan of the Accademia by Ligorio (1634 c.) 126
3. 3. 2. The general plan of Francesco Contini (1668) 126
3. 3. 3. The general plan of Contini edited by Athanasius Kircher (1671) 127
3. 3. 4. The general plan of Camillo Arcucci (1630 c.) 127
4. Historical studies of the xviith century 127
4. 4. 1. Antonio del Re (1611) 127
4. 4. 2. Fabio Croce (1664) 127
4. 4. 3. Francesco Marzi and Michele Giustiniani (1665) 128
4. 4. 4. Girolamo Fabri (1672) 128
4. 4. 5. Gasparo Alveri (xviith century) 128
4. 4. 6. Pietro Sante Bartoli (mid-xviith century) 128
4. 4. 7. Giovanni Pietro Bellori (1664) 129
5. Other characters of the xviith century in connection with the Accademia of Hadrian’s Villa 129
5. 5. 1. Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657) 129
5. 5. 2. Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654) 129
5. 5. 3. Camillo Pamphilj (1622-1686) 130
5. 5. 4. Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) 131
5. 5. 5. Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) 132
6. Conclusions 133
7. Appendix: 1. Contini’s original text on landowners in Hadrian’s Villa 133
8. Appendix: 2. Original Italian text of Del Re 135
Chapter 11. The Bulgarini in the xvii th century.
The first excavations at the Accademia
1. Giovanni Giacomo and Giovan Francesco Bulgarini 137
2. The Bulgarini properties at Hadrian’s Villa 138
3. Bulgarini finds in the xviith century. Catalogue 141
3. 3. 1. Statue of Child Dionysus, rosso antico marble 141
3. 3. 2. Seated statue from the Nymphæum of the Prætorium 143
3. 3. 3. The Barberini Candelabra 144
4. Appendix. Original Italian text quoted in footnotes 162
Chapter 12. Francesco Barberini,
Governor of Tivoli and patron of the arts
1. Biographical notes 165
2. Francesco Barberini and Hadrian’s Villa 165
Chapter 13. Francesco Contini.
The first complete plan and rational description of the Villa
1. Biographical notes 167
2. Francesco Contini and Hadrian’s Villa 167

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3. The plan of the Accademia in the ‘clean copy’ of Ligorio’s sketch (1634 c.) 167
3. 3. 1. The details of the plan 173
3. 3. 1. 3. 1. 1. The Belvedere [Ac1] and surrounding rooms [Ac2-5] 173
3. 3. 1. 3. 1. 2. Double portico [Ac6-7] and northern rooms [Ac9-14] 173
3. 3. 1. 3. 1. 3. Rooms north of the Temple of Apollo [Ac18-74] 176
3. 3. 1. 3. 1. 4. The Temple of Apollo [Ac78] and surrounding rooms [Ac75-90] 176
3. 3. 1. 3. 1. 5. The Nymphæum of the Prætorium 176
3. 3. 1. 3. 1. 6. The esplanades of Accademia and Prætorium, and the Nymphæum above the Canopus 176
4. The general plan of Hadrian’s Villa (1668) 176
5. The Accademia esplanade in the general plan of Contini (1668) 180
6. The Accademia in the general plan of Contini (1668) 182
6. 6. 1. The plan in detail 183
6. 6. 1. 6. 1. 1. Belvedere [Ac1] and surrounding rooms [Ac1-5] 183
6. 6. 1. 6. 1.2. The double portico [Ac6-8] and rooms on the north side [Ac9-14] 186
6. 6. 1. 6. 1. 3. Rooms north of the Temple of Apollo [Ac18-69] 188
6. 6. 1. 6. 1.4. The Temple of Apollo [Ac78] and surrounding rooms [Ac71-91] 188
6. 6. 1. 6. 1. 5. New rooms south of the portico [Ac99-106] 190
6. 6. 1. 6. 1. 6. The Nymphæum of the Prætorium 193
6. 6. 1. 6. 1. 7. Rooms towards the Fosso di Risicoli and subterranean service corridors 194
7. Conclusions 194
8. Appendix: Contini’s original Italian text 194
9. Contini’s original Italian plates i-iv and vi-x 201
Chapter 14. Cassiano dal Pozzo.
The Museo Cartaceo (Paper Museum): the first virtual museum
1. Biographical notes 209
2. Cassiano dal Pozzo and the Museo Cartaceo (Paper Museum) 210
3. Cassiano dal Pozzo and Hadrian’s Villa 211
Chapter 15. Athanasius Kircher.
Special effects, wisdom and wonders
1. Biographical notes 213
2. Athanasius Kircher and Hadrian’s Villa 215
3. 2. 1. The new edition of the general plan of Contini 215
3. 2. 2. The description of the Accademia 216
3. Appendix: Kircher’s Italian text 217
Chapter 16. Some remarks and conclusions
on the first three centuries of studies of Hadrian’s Villa
1. The xvth century 219
2. The xvith century 219
3. The xviith century 220
4. Conclusion 221
Bibliography 223
Indices. General Index 229
Indices. Index of names 231
Indices. Index of sculptures, relief and marbles 233
Index of folding Plans
1. 1. General plan of Hadrian’s Villa by Michael Ytterberg
1. 2. Plan of the Accademia (De Franceschini, Pavanello, Andreatta 2010)
1. 3. General plan by Francesco Contini (1668)
1. 4. Plan of the Accademia and surrounding area (De Franceschini, Pavanello, Andreatta 2010)