Discover Villa Lante

Last updated on October 9, 2026

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Checked against Wikipedia — Villa Lante is formed by two casini, nearly identical but built by different owners in a period separated by 30 years, each square building having a ground floor of rusticated arcades or loggias supporting a piano nobile above, each facade on that floor having just three windows alternating round or pointed pediments and divided by pilasters in pairs, with an upper floor merely hinted at by small rectangular mezzanine windows and each casino crowned by a lantern at the summit of the pantiled roof, The two casini of Villa Lante differ most in their frescoes, with frescoes of landscapes in the Gambara casino where the vaulted frescoed loggias are a riot of colour highlighting the architectural detail, and in the Montalto frescoes by a later artist in a more classical style where the principal reception room is a combination of fresco and plaster sculpture, almost trompe-l'oeil, Evidence for a single unitary design of Villa Lante is the large fresco of 1581 or earlier visible in the loggia of the Gambara casino, which shows the villa complete, and the villa repeats the architecture of the other villa at Caprarola, as in the catena d'acqua, On the upper terrace at Villa Lante are further fountains and grottos and two small casini called the Houses of the Muses, whose sides frame the large Fountain of the Deluge terminating the main axis of the garden; a roughened texture harmonises these small buildings with the natural rough rock of the Fountain, and water conduits set in their eaves and operated by a remote switch project jets of water to complete the visual ensemble known as the theatre of the waters, while their main facades feature Serliana loggias articulated by Ionic columns and bear the name of Cardinal Gambara engraved on the cornices, with one casino giving access to a small secret garden of hedges and topiary with a line of columns (October 2026).

Discover Villa Lante

Architecture

The short history

How it was built and evolved over time

Frequently asked questions

Discover Villa Lante

Architecture

The short history

How it was built and evolved over time

Frequently asked questions

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