Amongst the ruins of the Palatine, of the Claudian and Nero aqueducts and the Baths of Caracalla, set on the Celio hill, in a park of centuries old holm-oaks and pine trees, we find Villa Celimontana. In 1553 Giacomo Mattei acquired the “wine yard”  amongst the Vicus Scauro and Santa Maria in Domenica at the Navicella; at the end of the century, Ciriaco, descendant of Giacomo, transformed the wine yard in a typical Italian garden, surrounded by beautiful plants and decorated by statues and classical art works.

From the end of the century, thanks to these transformations, the Villa became a cultural destination where nobles and foreigners could admire the collections of bronzes and sculptures: Ciriaco was a real patron in Rome, in the Villa he assembled many artists, poets and musicians. To create a perfect union in between nature and art, Ciriaco elected the architect Giacomo Del Duca, an apprentice of Michelangelo, that built the “casino” (the small house), where the collections of ancient bronzes and statues where put.
Today we can still admire the great Egyptian obelisk donated to Ciriaco for his cultural support to the city of Rome.