Villa Aurora: The Starting Bid For This Princess’s Roman Home is Roughly $534 Million

In the eighteen years since meeting the late Italian prince Nicolò Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi, who would become her husband, Texas-born Rita Jenrette—now Her Serene Highness Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, Principessa di Piombino, XIII—has been helping to restore an historic home in Rome known as Villa Aurora. Now, three years after the passing of her husband, she’s ready to let it go, the New York Post reports.

The 32,000 square foot property is chock-full of artistic wonders, though this wasn’t immediately evident upon her arrival in 2003, when the roof was leaking and there were cracks in the frescos. Caravaggio’s only ceiling painting is in the home, along with a Michelangelo sculpture in the garden, and a table handed down from the creator of the Gregorian calendar, Ugo Boncompagn. Beyond art, plenty of historical artifacts have been uncovered in the space, including letters from Marie Antoinette and King Louis XV according to a 2011 New Yorker feature on the home’s restoration. As the home was built in 1570, innumerable notable figures have visited the space since, from Galileo Galilei to Annie Leibovitz.

“Never would I have dreamed that I would have married one of the most illustrious, important princes in the Holy Roman Empire,” Rita told the New York Post. “What an honor this has been. What a golden moment in my life.” The property will be auctioned on January 18, 2022 by the Italian government. The bid will reportedly start at $534 million, a deal that will set a world record if met.