Created over sixty years of passionate collecting by Mario Praz (Rome 1896-1982), a renowned English literature scholar and critic, it presents itself as a 19th-century noble residence furnished in every detail with furniture, paintings, sculptures, rugs, drapes, chandeliers, bronzes, crystal, porcelain, miniatures, silverware, and marbles.
Acquired on the European antiques market—in France, Germany, and England as well as Italy—these furnishings offer a delightful overview of a ‘philosophy of decoration’ ranging from the neoclassical taste of the late 18th century through the Empire style to the more domestic Biedermeier manner characterizing the second half of the 19th century. Reception rooms and bedrooms, libraries, study, and dining room are presented one after the other to the visitor, who is welcomed as if in a still-inhabited home, with fresh flowers in the vases and open books on the tables.
Many paintings on the walls depict 19th-century interior views, and it is not unusual to find among the house furnishings some of the objects reproduced in the paintings themselves, such as the large 19th-century Erard harp located in the study, near a portrait of a lady dressed in blue fashion from 1830, leaning on an identical musical instrument.
A relatively small museum but rich in atmosphere, packed with over 1200 objects, it is visited with certain necessary arrangements for small groups of no more than 10/12 people who, accompanied by staff, are guided along a selected 45-minute route.
