Villa Rufinella

Villa Rufinella, also called Villa Tuscolana, is a villa in Frascati, Italy.

Villa Rufinella is situated highest of the villas on the hill above the town of Frascati. It was built by Alessandro Ruffini, bishop of Melfi, in 1578, but during its history, the proprietors have made changes in different parts of it. In 1773 the villa became property of the pope. The architect Luigi Vanvitelli, commissioned by the Jesuits, gave the building its present appearance.

In 1804 Pope Pius VII sold the Villa to prince Lucien Bonaparte during his self-imposed exile in Rome. Prince Lucien started the first excavations in the area of the villa and in the territory of Tusculum, sending many of the artifacts found to Paris to be sold on the antiques market. In 1817 a group of bandits of Antonio Gasbarrone's band, commanded by Tommaso Transerici, tried to kidnap the prince during one of his parties in the gardens. Instead of the prince, the bandits kidnapped one of his guests, an artist named Charles de Chatillôn, who softened the bandits by painting portraits of them during his captivity. The Prince was so annoyed by the attack that he sold the villa soon thereafter.