The Enigmatic Pilgrim at the Magic Door of the Palace of Palombara
In the heart of the Esquiline Hill in Rome, third century AD Emperor Licinius Gallienus enjoyed the tranquility of the Horti Liciniani, a luxurious complex of ancient Roman villas with large gardens and outdoor rooms originally built in the first century BC. By the mid-17th century, the impressive Villa Palombara, home of Massimiliano II Savelli, Marquis of Palombara (1614-1685) occupied this land. The romantic vine-covered remains and buried Roman statues among the rubble and ruins of the erstwhile gardens painted the Esquiline landscape with a nostalgic magic.
The Villa Palombara opposite the Nymphaeum of Alexander in a map engraved by Giovanni Battista Falda (1676).(Public Domain)
From his basement laboratory, built in 1653 to pursue his alchemic interests, the Marquis of Palombara could gaze upon the ruins of the Nymphaeum of Alexander also erroneously called Trophies of Marius. The laboratory was accessed through a secondary portal, called the Magic Door, which sadly is all that remains of that magic palace today, since it was all demolished in 1880, to make way for the construction of the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.
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