The Academy of France in Rome exceptionally opens the restored spaces of the Villa Medici on the weekend of June 14 and 15, 2025. An event included in the multi-year project Restoring Enchantment to Villa Medici, which allows visitors to explore renovated environments such as salons, guest rooms, and completely transformed historic gardens.
2025 marks the completion of the major redevelopment work begun in 2022. Six new guest rooms, completely redesigned by international teams of architects, designers and craftsmen, are unveiled to the public. These spaces are conceived as small, self-contained worlds where history meets the contemporary in a continuous dialogue between fine materials, carefully thought-out architectural details and natural light.
Among the most significant projects are Sébastien Kieffer and Léa Padovani’s Studiolo, intimate and textural; Zanellato/Bortotto’s Sky in a Room with Incalmi, a symphony of glass and metal; and Studio GGSV’s Camera Fantasia, a sensory journey between papier-mâché and decorative painting. Once reserved for the painters of the Académie, these rooms now overlook the city, offering spectacular views.
Among the most significant new additions is the restoration of the Lemon Garden, created under the guidance of landscape architect Bas Smets and historic monuments architect Pierre-Antoine Gatier. In this space, home to citrus plants and pergolas of Lunario lemons, a landscape takes shape that interweaves Medici history with botanical research and contemporary design.
Also arriving to make this space even more special is the new Cosimo de’ Medici outdoor furniture line, designed by the duo Muller Van Severen and produced by Tectona
In front of the Villa’s loggia, on the other hand, opens the parterre rethought as a place of dialogue between art and nature. Twenty lemon trees are now housed in artist vases made by Natsuko Uchino from molded terracotta and decorated with fragments of Roman remains. The peperino bases, sculpted by Daniele De Tomassi, bear engraved words that compose an original poem by Laura Vazquez, winner of the Goncourt Prize for Poetry in 2023. The result is a garden that blends nature, art and writing.
The tour also includes the six reception rooms restored in 2022, under the artistic direction of Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi, where historic pieces mingle with contemporary creations signed by Chiara Andreatti and Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. They are joined by six historic rooms restored in 2023 by India Mahdavi, who transformed the cardinal apartments into colorful, geometrically rich spaces embellished with furnishings by Mobilier National.
Hours: Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (tours depart every 5 minutes)
Guided tour of the rooms (30 minutes) + free access to the salons and gardens
Languages available: Italian, French, English
Tickets: 10 euros full, 7 euros reduced
For reservations: villamedici.it
Photos © Daniele Molajoli
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| Villa Medici - Academy of France in Rome exceptionally opens restored spaces to the public |
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