[imagesource: Studio Fori]

Imagine a massive Roman villa, poised to be the most expensive home ever sold, complete with artwork from some of the greats of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, completely flopping at an auction.

Shame, it actually happened.

For 20 years, Texas-born Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi lived in Villa Aurora (also known as the Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi), having been the third wife of the late Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi.

Now, she has been made to sell the house at an auction after an inheritance dispute between her and her three stepchildren from the Prince’s first marriage.

Perhaps luckily for her, the auction sale was met with just the chirping of crickets and not a single bid put forward to mark the sale, reported ArtNet.

It might have had something to do with the €471 million (roughly R8,2 billion) price tag, with additional costs for restoration, or it could be fate.

The villa is covered in artwork depicting various Gods, so who knows:

Image: Alamy

Here’s more about the mind-numbing art, per the BBC:

The highlight of the six-storey villa’s many treasures is the wall painting by the 16th and 17th Century artist Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio.

The oil painting, which contains nudity, depicts the gods Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, with the world at its centre and marked by signs of the zodiac. The artist is said to have painted the gods to look like himself.

It is the world’s only surviving Caravaggio mural, itself estimated to have a value of €310m (R5,5 billion). It was painted in 1597 after the villa’s first owner commissioned it for his alchemy room.

That painting was covered up until well into the 1960s when it was finally discovered.

The name of the villa comes from another amazing art piece, though; a fresco painted by Italian Baroque artist Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino.

It shows the goddess Aurora, or Dawn, on her chariot:

Image: Alamy

There is more to this dizzying array of historical items, including letters written by Marie Antoinette, a Michelangelo statue in the garden, and a telescope that Galileo Galilei gifted the Ludovosis.

Sounds like an incredible deal for whoever gets to keep the house one day, bar the €11 million (R193 million) repairs that the buyer will be responsible for.

Check out this video tour of the house:

The Prince’s will stated that the house should be Rita’s, but the three stepsons mounted a legal battle as they wanted the house all to themselves.

Meanwhile, a petition has been launched to get the government to swoop in and keep the house in the public domain.

The fate of the villa will be decided at another auction on April 7, when it will go back up for sale but at 20% cheaper than the original price tag.

Then, the state only has the right of first refusal after an initial offer is made, fresco Gods be willing.

[sources:artnet&bbc]