cetinale's history
through the centuries
The story of Cetinale is not simply one of architecture. Popes and cardinals, pilgrims and hermits, hunting parties and Palio races have all played their part. Much of that history remains visible today, from the great axis running through the estate to the paths of the Thebaid and the Romitorio high above the villa.
Still very much a private house, Cetinale sits at the heart of a remarkable landscape of gardens, woodland, chapels and historic buildings that has developed around it for more than three centuries.
1651–1680
The making of Cetinale
Fabio Chigi began enlarging an existing farmhouse at Cetinale in 1651, before work stopped when he became Pope Alexander VII four years later.
His nephew, Cardinal Flavio Chigi, later commissioned Carlo Fontana, a pupil of Bernini, to create the Roman Baroque villa much as we know it today. Flavio had visited the court of Louis XIV at Versailles and knew the latest expressions of European grandeur, but Cetinale was conceived as a country retreat rather than a formal palace.
The villa was completed in 1680.
LATE 17TH CENTURY
Life at Cetinale
Flavio Chigi used Cetinale as an escape from the politics of Rome and for two of his great passions: hunting and horse racing. Elaborate hunting parties were held on the estate, while Palio races also took place here between 1679 and 1692 - an unusual connection between Cetinale and the traditions of nearby Siena.
19th century
The Original Loggia
The villa’s upper loggia was originally open and balustraded, providing a sheltered place for taking the air. It was enclosed by a later generation and is now the dining room, its walls and vaulted ceiling painted as a trompe-l’œil pergola.
TODAY
Cetinale now
More than three centuries after the villa was completed, Cetinale remains first and foremost a private country house.
The villa, gardens, Thebaid and Romitorio are still closely connected, and much of the landscape that shaped Cetinale's history continues to form part of everyday life on the estate.
1693 ONWARDS
The Thebaid & Romitorio
After Flavio's death, his nephew Bonaventura Chigi Zondadari developed the sacred landscape above the villa. Paths, chapels and statues wind through the Thebaid before reaching the 300 stone steps of the Santa Scala and the Romitorio above.
Together they form part of the great axis that still defines Cetinale today.
1978
A new chapter
Lord Lambton bought Cetinale in 1978, when the villa and gardens were in need of considerable restoration. Over the following decades, he worked to restore the house and gardens while retaining the character that had developed over generations.
Cetinale remains in the Lambton family today.
