Villa

Disapproving nuns painted over the risqué frescoes in Rome’s long-neglected Villa Silvestri Rivaldi for 300 years; restorers are now exposing them

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Disapproving nuns painted over the risqué frescoes in Rome's long-neglected Villa Silvestri Rivaldi for 300 years; restorers are now exposing them

For nearly three centuries, layers of plain paint and plaster hid a remarkable secret inside one of Rome’s long-neglected Renaissance villas. Now, restorers peeling back those layers are bringing colourful scenes of gods, goddesses, soldiers and mythological figures back into view, as per a report by Smithsonian Magazine.The rediscovered artwork is inside Villa Silvestri Rivaldi, … Read more

In 1943, two Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis bought a crumbling Los Angeles mansion for $9,000; 83 years later, after the Palisades Fire forced it shut, Villa Aurora has reopened

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In 1943, two Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis bought a crumbling Los Angeles mansion for $9,000; 83 years later, after the Palisades Fire forced it shut, Villa Aurora has reopened

Villa Aurora was built in 1927 as a Spanish Revival model home (Photo: Daniella On Design) In 1943, German Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife, Marta, bought a crumbling mansion in Pacific Palisades, Los Angels, for $9,000. The couple who had fled Nazi persecution, turned the house into a gathering place for artists, writers … Read more