The Casino dell’Aurora in Rome is a jewel of early 17th-century Roman Baroque, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese and designed by the Flemish architect Giovanni Vasanzio atop the ruins of the Baths of Constantine.
Its windows directly overlook Piazza del Quirinale and the Fountain of the Dioscuri, and the three large stained glass windows face the hanging garden of about 2,000 sqm. The heritage that the Casino dell’Aurora has preserved for centuries includes works ranging from Roman marble sarcophagi from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD embedded in the facade, to exquisite frescoes from the 1500s and 1600s including Reni’s Aurora which gives the Casino its name, “The 4 Seasons” by Bril, and “The Triumphs” by Tempesta.
But its artistic and cultural value is also expressed through the presence of extraordinary marble statues and busts in terms of beauty and state of preservation, such as the statue of “The Artemis the Huntress,” the most complete known from the Hellenistic period, the Athena Rospigliosi, or the complex of the access ramp to the Casino, called Scala della Pastorella.
Finally, the presence of the precious Quadreria collection further enriches an exclusive environment that testifies to history and culture across all the classical arts. Among the numerous works housed in the rooms of the Casino, there are also paintings by Reni and Luca Giordano.
Visit info:
The Casino is open to the public, limited to the central room frescoed by Guido Reni,
on the 1st day of each month (except January).
