Located along Corso d’Italia between Piazza Fiume and Porta Pia, this splendid villa with gardens, fountains, and exotic plants was originally built in the 18th century for Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga. In 1816 it became the residence of Paolina Borghese, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. Later abandoned, it was damaged during the breach of Porta Pia in 1870. Sold to the Prussian government in 1906, it became the embassy to the Holy See. Assigned to France in 1945, it has housed the French Embassy to the Holy See since 1950.
