Rome's Villa Aurora expected to fetch over $500 million
Rome’s Villa Aurora is up for auction
and it's expected to fetch over $500 million
Location: Rome, Italy
Villa Aurora was originally built as a hunting lodge
It boasts approximately 11 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms
and a ceiling mural painted by Italian master Caravaggio
'Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto' was painted in 1597
The mural alone is valued at over $350 million
The villa was bought by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi in 1621
and has remained in the Ludovisi family ever since
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CURRENT OCCUPIER OF VILLA AURORA, PRINCESS RITA BONCOMPAGNI LUDOVISI, SAYING:"It was such an honour, and that’s the way I feel. I feel I’ve done all I can, and if they auction it I just pray and hope that whoever buys it will love it as much as we have, because I’m such a miniscule part of the 500 year history of this house and you want to know that, you know, there are going to be … I don’t know, you just want to know that the people who assume it understand all the mysteries of this and all of the hidden secrets that we are discovering every day."