Villa Imperiale
Renaissance villa on the San Bartolo hill in Pesaro, residence of the Sforza and Della Rovere families, with frescoed rooms, gardens and terraces. Seasonal guided tours.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Villa Imperiale takes its name from an episode in January 1452: Emperor Frederick III stopped in Pesaro, and Alessandro Sforza, who commissioned the villa, invited him to see the site where he intended to build his residence. The emperor laid the first stone. Construction was completed in 1469, as recorded by the inscription on the portal. The Sforza building, the oldest part, with its tall tower, is a typical fifteenth-century country villa with Medicean influences, with an arcaded courtyard at its centre.
The most striking part is the sixteenth-century wing designed from 1523 by the architect Girolamo Genga of Urbino for the dukes of Urbino, Francesco Maria Della Rovere and Leonora Gonzaga. From 1528 Genga restored the Sforza villa, where a cycle of frescoes was painted by Francesco Menzocchi, Raffaellino del Colle, Camillo Mantovano and the Dossi brothers. He also designed the new wing, extending up the hill with terraces, loggias, gardens and courtyards intended for the leisure (otium) of the dukes and their guests.
After the transfer to the Medici in 1631 and years of neglect, in 1763 the villa housed Spanish and Portuguese Jesuits in exile, who altered much of it. In 1777 it passed in emphyteusis to Prince Orazio Albani. The Castelbarco Albani family began restoration in the nineteenth century, and in the twentieth century the Jesuit additions were removed. After the damage of the Second World War, restoration works begun in 1945 were completed in the 1970s.
Highlights
- Sforza wing with tall tower and arcaded courtyard
- Frescoed rooms of the Sforza villa
- Della Rovere wing designed by Girolamo Genga
- Apartment of Duchess Leonora Gonzaga
- Gardens, courtyards and terraces on the San Bartolo hill
Permanent exhibition
- Villa Imperiale – Il Delitioso Paradiso: natura, architettura, pittura – Guided tour of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century villa, with gardens, courtyards, terraces, the duchess's apartment and frescoed rooms.
- Visitors per year
- approx. 1,600
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €15 |
|---|
Guided tour at €15 per person, by reservation only through the cooperative Isairon.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By car: Pesaro-Urbino motorway exit, then SS 16 towards Pesaro as far as via Lucio Accio, and follow the signs to the villa.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
- Private parties
- Weddings / ceremonies
The villa is available as a venue for events and weddings (enquiries: info@villaimperialepesaro.com).
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Single route in small groups: from the gardens to the courtyards and terraces, with staggered access to the apartment of Duchess Leonora Gonzaga in the Della Rovere wing and to the frescoed rooms in the Sforza wing. Bookings through the cooperative Isairon (info@isairon.it, +39 338 262 9372). |
