Collections

Villa Medici preserves an important art collection, which is in part a legacy of the Ferdinando de Medici collection, while the other works have been collected by the various directors of the FrenchAcademy in Rome since its inception in 1660.

This collection of works of art was commissioned by the directors or realized by they themselves or the fellows. These works, on display in the villa and its gardens, consist of precious furnishings, tapestries, objets d’art and design artifacts, musical instruments, drawings, engravings, sculptures, plus a splendid collection of plasters and paintings of which 460 portraits of fellows realized between 1798 and 1936.

The History of Art department endeavors to preserve, study, make known and enhance the heritage of Villa Medici.