The Villa Aurora in central Rome is renowned for a Caravaggio ceiling painting with several very nude male Roman gods placing the moon in the heavens, as well as a monumental Guercino fresco cycle depicting dawn (“aurora,” in Latin) borne aloft on clouds by horse-drawn carriage.
A former hunting lodge, or casino, of the aristocratic Boncompagni Ludovisi family, it also has another draw: it could soon be yours! Thanks to an epic family feud, the villa—a 30,000-square-foot fixer-upper dating to the 16th century—is up for auction in a distress sale.*
