Caravaggio's Only Ceiling Fresco for Sale for Half a Billion

A majestic villa in the centre of Rome and a priceless work are being offered together at auction next January. One of the most opulent Roman residences will be put up for sale, in what promises to be the most profitable auction of 2022. Located a few steps from Fellini's Via Veneto, made famous by the film La Dolce Vita (1960), the luxurious 16th-century building houses numerous works of art, including an oil mural attributed to Michelangelo Merisi, commonly known as Caravaggio.

See also: Top 10 Rediscovered Masterpieces

The home was built for Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, who commissioned the Baroque artist to paint Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto on the ceiling of the villa around 1597, as an allegory of the triad of Paracelsus, the German alchemist, and a tribute to the world of alchemy. The three deities, gathered around a translucent globe, can be associated with three elements: Jupiter (Air), Neptune (Water) and Pluto (Earth).

The painting alone is worth at least €310 million (£265 mil), while the entire 24,000-square-foot villa and gardens are estimated together at €471 million (£405 mil). However, the historic residence, whose splendid gardens were described by famous poets such as Goethe, D'Annunzio and Stendhal, also needs an additional €10 million (£8.6 mil) in renovations to be habitable.

See also: The Beauty of Villa Necchi Campiglio

The villa was also frescoed by Guercino, who worked on it between 1621 and 1623. The Aurora fresco, from which the whole complex takes its name, depicts the goddess of Dawn on a chariot pulled by two horses, while the Night runs away.

As a protected art site, the Italian State will have the right of first refusal in the sale, meaning they can purchase it before it comes up publicly to auction. The hope, in any case, is that a treasure of this magnitude will end up in the hands of someone who knows how to appreciate its immense beauty.

Read all of the latest news on Barnebys Magazine