10Villa Mondragone, Castelli Romani
Villa Mondragone was built on the remains of a Roman villa from the 2nd century AD. The first nucleus of the modern villa, known as the “Casino segreto”, was built by the Austrian-born cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps starting from 1573, based on a project by Martino Longhi the Elder. The villa was then the favorite residence of Paolina Bonaparte, younger sister of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.