Part of an architectural complex that also included a grotto intended for wine storage, the Loggia dei Vini is an original and elegant oval-shaped pavilion built between 1612 and 1618, at the same time as the Casino Nobile at Villa Borghese, and used in the summer for the banquets and convivial parties of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Literary sources of the time do not fail to emphasize the sumptuousness of the complex, embellished with decorations and frescoes and with a mechanical device that poured a shower of fragrant petals on diners at the end of the banquet.
Long closed to the public after a number of interventions made during the 20th century, the Loggia has recovered some of its former splendor at the end of a first phase of restoration (of the three planned). The restorations involved the double-ramp access staircase, the pillars and the interior vault, with its stucco cornices and the central fresco depicting The Banquet of the Gods, by Urbino painter Archita Ricci. The opening, with free access, is enhanced by the LAVINIA contemporary art project, designed to dialogue with the space of the Loggia and with all the phases of renovation.
The name of the project is a tribute to Lavinia Fontana, one of the first recognized artists in art history, who has been in the Borghese collection since the early seventeenth century. The project addresses people walking through the park, questioning notions of public art and tradition, and includes in this first phase the exhibition, until 26 January 2025, of site-specific works by artists Ross Birrell & David Harding, Monika Sosnowska, Enzo Cucchi, Gianni Politi, Piero Golia, and Virginia Overton. Each LAVINIA opening is associated with an ice cream flavor designed especially for the occasion, in memory of the delicious sorbets that were served along with fine wines at this evocative reception venue. The first flavor is “orange and lemongrass”.
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