Some photos of the so-called Casina of Cardinal Bessarione, which represents one of the few examples of a suburban villa of the early Renaissance in Rome. A real surprise that you should visit! It is a perfect example of how you can visit something beautiful and peacefull even if you are not so far from the chaos of the Eternal City.

We are along the ancient urban stretch of the Appian Way (which today corresponds to Via di Porta San Sebastiano), where at the beginnings of the XV century the powerful cardinal Bessarione, a very well known and highly esteemed in the courts skullcaps, decided to live. At the time, this point, right behind the Aurelian Walls, was considered the extreme outskirts, in a Rome and certainly not extended. Therefore, copying the style of the ancient Romans, it was here that Bessarione wished to dwell when he wanted to disconnect a little plug. Immersed in nature, in a land that overflowed with works of art of other eras were at times exorbitant by the ground, in a quiet and relaxing place. The best way to spend the whole day to nourish the body and spirit, by reading classical texts or hosting one of the singers, and poets.

The beautiful loggia that you see in the photos contributed to make more relaxing the atmosphere, with its bucolic, full of plants, trees, animals, and landscapes frescoes. All the painted elements, like that ones that you can see on the loggia, are telling us how amazing was the sense of beauty at the XV century, when nature, virtues, architectonical elements and mythological characters were able to live together on a wall. A sort of Heaven on earth for a man like Bessarione, who went down in history for being a very cultured man of letters and close to the ancient world. He was among the initiators and supporters of a thought, defined the neo-platonic, which aimed to bring together christian ideas, drawing on classical culture, creating a link to the history and philosophical-between two worlds seemingly irreconcilable. You have to imagine that this powerful cardinal, who was very close to be elected Pope in the mid of the XV century, was born in Trebisonda (modern Turkey) at the 1403. But he spend his life travelling in Italy, working for the Popes and the Holy Church, in order to find a way to conciliate the latin and orthodox churches. He would like to build a sort of bridge between west and east, between two different cultures, religions and thoughts that, according to him, could survive togheter. So Bessarione can be considered a man of peace, a man who really tried to unify again the Latin Church with the Orthodox one, different ways to follow the Jesus’ path that since the XI century decided to divide. A man who, perhaps for this reason, decided to retrace the steps of the rich Roman nobles, who often used to spend their free time between various idleness, surrounded by a true nature and a dummy made by means of paintings and read from the themes and not binding, both inside and outside...