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Rome Navona - Campo de' Fiori
The Turtles' Dream: wonderful panoramic terraced apartment,
4 double bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. Spectacular views, beautiful décor
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Elegant, bright panoramic 4 bedroom apartment, in historical stately palace overlooking the Turtle Fountain.
4 ample double bedrooms, 3 bathr., amazing frescoed sitting room w. antique coffered wooden ceiling, large dining-kitchen, 2 fitted terraces of which one panoramic with views of Rome's sights and domes.
High ceilings, tasteful furniture, modern appliances, all mod cons. Inviting, cozy and charming property, accommodating max. 8 persons in real beds.
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Elevator;
- Air conditioning / heating in each room;
- Internet Wi-Fi high speed internet;
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Colour TV with international and English/American channels;
- Complete kitchen equipment, finest dishes, glassware;
Washing machine, clothes dryer, iron, iron board, dishwasher;
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Microwave, mixer, toaster, electronic scales;
- Italian coffee pots, American coffee percolator, tea kettle
- Baby stroller, SAFE;
- Detailed property and area booklet with photos, map;
- Nearby: grocers, shops, cafes, restaurants, delis, hammam & massage, beauty centre, hairdresser, jogging & bike track.
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To Rome centre map, for the exact location.
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Very few properties bewilder at first sight, yet also make its guests be enamoured of it. The Turtles' Dream apartment has these qualities: it combines unobtainable elegance with charm, the class of an aristocratic palace with cosiness, historical character with cheerfulness and modern convenience.
| It is also a large property, ensuring space and comfort: 4 elegant double bedrooms of which 2 are matrimonial, 3 sparkling bathrooms of which 2 are en-suite.
The icing on the cake are its two fitted / equipped private terraces, one of which is highly panoramic, with views of Rome's domes and sights.
A holiday in Italy would not be complete without a dinner "al fresco" amidst Rome's domes and sights.
Left: part of the panoramic terrace with tables and chairs to dine out. In this photo, from left to right you see: Palazzo Mattei, the Vittoriale Monument, the Church of Ara Coeli, Capitol square (Campidoglio) designed by Michelangelo, the Municipality palace (since 753 BC!), the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli, the Church Sant'Angelo in Pescheria.
Both terraces are endowed with tables, chairs and parasol. The panoramic terrace also has deck chairs to sunbathe. |
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The higher terrace, most panoramic, is ample and endowed also with an elegant sitting area in "Rattan".
You will be able to relax, chat with relatives and friends, and also have a drink with spectacular views of Rome's sights and domes. It will truly be an unforgettable experience.
The sitting area comprises an ample sofa for three, two armchairs, a lower table.
Behind it, as you can see, you find an ample parasol, and also two comfortable deck chairs, which you can move at leisure in the terrace.
From the panoramic terrace you can enjoy views of many Rome's domes and sights. |
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There follows a preview of *only some of the sights* you can see from the terrace:
This is an overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property, or to the panoramic terrace presentation if you are interested in its views.
Let's take a step back, and present the apartment. "The Turtles' Dream" is a large, wonderful apartment taking up the high floor of the famous Costaguti Palace in Rome, situated in the square Piazza Mattei, where you find perhaps Rome's finest fountain: the Turtle Fountain, or Fontana delle Tartarughe (by Taddeo Landini, 1581-1588).
Right photo: the Turtle Fountain. All the windows of the highest floor of the palace belong to the apartment, and face the fountain.
The Fountain is so famous that many copies were built in the world (4 only in the USA). You will be able to see the original from your windows at all times.
The apartment is part of the historical Costaguti Palace, one of Rome's most famous. It is owned by the same family since 1578. They will be your hospitable and courteous hosts.
The entrance is directly from the main gate of the palace, which has a concierge. The square and the palace are located in the heart of old Rome, between the two districts Campo de' Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto, near Piazza Navona and the Pantheon.
All Rome's sights are either around the palace, or at walking distance and can be easily reached on foot. |
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The neighbourhood springs up with artisans' shops, restaurants, cafes, shops and groceries of all kinds. There is even a hammam and massage centre just around the corner. Best of all, the people of the quarter are very friendly and helpful.
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Past the gate of the palace one can either take the historical grand stairs or the elevator, reaching in both cases direcly the landing of the apartment.
As you step in, you are immediately stupefied by the splendid, inviting and nevertheless cosy sitting room (left photo).
Left: the wonderful sitting room, past the entry door.
The décor is outstanding. The floors are paved with special old "Graniglia" tiles, made of inclusions of different bonded marbles, which render a mosaic effect.
The original wooden coffered ceiling is decorated ingeniously. In each of the 168 frames there is a painting of a different species of bird.
Beneath the ceiling, in the perimetral walls you find beautiful frescoes of peacocks, spaced out with the coat of arms of the Costaguti family. |
The room is elegantly furnished.
You find three large sofas, a wooden table, a wonderful chest of drawers, and a stylish table just past the entry door.
The room is also equipped with a high quality HD LCD 40 inches colour TV, broadcasting all intl' channels by means of cable-satellite.
As the right photo shows, the room is also decorated with paintings and old prints, by lamps, and it comprises a coat stand.
As you can see, the sitting room leads also to the other rooms (there is also a second entry door leading to them, near the main entry door).
Opposite view of the sitting room, with glimpse of the dining room - kitchen. Notice the wonderful floor, and the cosy old wooden door. |
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The wooden coffered ceiling is mesmerising.
As mentioned, you find 168 coffered frames, each with the painting of a different species of bird (left photo, inside you find more photos about the ceiling).
The paintings were restored over the centuries, and thus their colours are vivid to this day. Their last renovation occurred 6 years ago.
Please look the lower part of this page for more details about this room.
Kindly remember that this is just the overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property. |
The other rooms of the apartment can be reached, as mentioned, either through the sitting room, or through a second entry door.
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The dining room - kitchen is simply brilliant.
It is expansive, bright, with a design both classical and modern, and with excellent décor. It is charming and with a homely feel.
The kitchen furnitures, its cabinets and all the appliances are brand new.
Left: the dining room and the kitchen.
Together, the dining room and the kitchen surface stretches over 36 Sq. Mts. (app. 380 Sq. Ft.).
The floor tiles are still made of "graniglia", yet with a different design, and although they were manifactured in the province of Rome, they follow the tradition of the region of Naples (which produces the finest Italian tiles).
The room is endowed with three large windows. Two overlook the street Via dei Falegnami, while one overlooks Piazza Mattei and the Turtle Fountain.
You can also notice the beautiful, large courtains, matching the colours of the tiles. |
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This closer view (left photo) shows the kitchen.
Both the kitchen and the dining room have the size of full-fledged rooms, yet their dividing wall was removed to achieve one larger, elegant and more functional open space.
Both rooms, as you can see, are endowed with finest tiles, elegant crystal chandeliers in the ceiling, and with fine perimeter wall lamps, whose colours match those of the tiles and of the courtains.
The furniture and the cabinets of the kitchen are brand new.
The kitchen sitting area is ample, elegant, modern.
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This closer photo to the right shows a detail of the dining room.
The dining room can comfortably sit up to 8 persons.
The dining room and the kitchen are equipped with complete cutlery, fine dishes, chinaware, fine glassware, pots, pans.
Fine paintings of old masters, with beautiful gilded frames, complete the décor.
This is just the overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property. |
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The photo to the right shows the window view from the kitchen and from the bedrooms.
From left to right you can see: Palazzo Mattei (built 1616), Via dei Funari (leading to Capitol Hill and to the Roman Forum), the famous Turtle Fountain considered one of Rome's finest, the dome of the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli (in the distance), and at the corner of the palazzo finally Via della Reginella, leading to the Jewish Ghetto.
It is fun to watch from the windows of the apartment the flow of tourists visiting the fountain, each with a different behaviour.
Right: Window view with typical scene near the Turtle Fountain - tourists in awe taking pictures, a couple kissing after having parked their bikes.
This is just the overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property. |
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They are all elegant and impeccable, each with a different character.
The master bedroom is large and simply beautiful.
It is also bright and sunny, as the left photo shows. Its two large windows face Piazza Mattei and from them you can see directly the Turtle Fountain, and also the features of the Costaguti Palace.
Like in any room the ceiling is high (5.3 meters or app. 17.5 Ft.), and it is decorated with a green fillet (fascia), and by stucco work.
The floor is wonderful, made of wonderful "Graniglia" tiles with a classical Italian design, with different shades of green, pastel and yellow.
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The furniture is simple yet most elegant. In the right photo, you can see the ample bed and an old chest of drawers.
This room is endowed with an en-suite bathroom, (please click the link to see it).
As you can see in the right photo, the tiles have an original interplay, as they decorate also part of the walls. This solution interlaces all decorative features, making they appear as a whole, and enhancing the décor.
You find also paintings, bed side tables with their lamps, and a 37 HD LCD colour TV. Like the one of the sitting room, by means of cable/satellite dish it enables to watch international channels, including English-speaking ones (BBC, CNN, FoxNews etc.).
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This opposite photo of the master bedroom is taken from its entry.
It shows its small lobby, presently only a charming space with lamps and paintings, yet it will soon have other interesting decorative features.
As you can see, also in the lobby the floor tiles interlace with the wall.
In this photo you can also see the elegant glass chandelier, and from the right window you can see indistinctly another side of the facade of the Costaguti Palace, with its ashlar-work and its refined cornice. |
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| SECOND MATRIMONIAL BEDROOM |
It has on purpose a different style from the master bedroom, but it is no less elegant, inviting and comfortable.
It is a very bright and sunny room (as the left photo shows), and the brightness is enhanced by its light grade and by the large, light curtains.
The décor entails a perimeter red fascia, stucco-work, and like in all rooms, elegant graniglia tiles, with red these in this case.
The furniture is simple yet refined, it includes a chest of drawer, a chair, and a built-in closet.
A chandelier, fine lamps and paintings complete the room. |
This matrimonial bedroom, like the master bedroom, has an en-suite bathroom.
The tiles and the decor match that of the bedroom, and they are of "graniglia" type (made of small particles / grains of marble), with delicate red pastel colours.
You find an ample shower enclosure, with a glass shield to prevent water sprays wetting the room.
You find the ordinary components: sink, toiled and bidet.
This is just the overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property. |
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The apartment comprises two twin bed rooms. They have different character, furniture and style.
The first one is between the two matrimonial bedrooms.
The design and general layout is similar to the second matrimonial bedroom, but the theme colour is olive green, as it matches with an old cornice built-in the walls, made of "Peperino" stone, a typical feature of the palace. This stone, obtained from quarries located in the Roman Castles, is rare as it is not mined anymore.
The ceiling fascia and the elegant "graniglia" tiles are also of green olive colour.
From the window you see as usual Piazza Mattei, the Turtle Fountain, and also old "palazzi", churches, and the roofs of old Rome. |
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This room is quite different from the others, yet it is no less elegant and charming.
It is somewhat cosier, and thus more suitable for young people.
The colour theme is again red, which is the colour of the bedheads, and of six lamps.
This room faces the terrace, and it is bright like all other rooms, especially in the afternoon.
You also find a cosy old wooden desk and chair, perfect to write postcards or to send emails with your laptop. |
| BATHROOM OF THE TWIN BED ROOMS |
The bathroom of the two twin bed rooms is situated in the section of the property including also the laundry room, and a fine corridor, connected in turn with the corridor leading to the twin beds room (please look the floor plan of the apartment).
This corridor also features a secondary entry door of the apartment. Please see the photos inside to see it (this page is just a preview!).
The bathroom of the twin beds room is ample, and sparkling. It is most elegant, and just entirely renovated.
It includes a bathtub with glass shield, the usual components (sink, bidet etc., please see the inside photos!), and also two original 18th century small wardrobes, a rarity and a treat as well. |
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This is just the overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property.
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The palace stands on the ruins of an ancient church, which in turn was built on top of an ancient Roman temple. The palace replaced both, and it was purchased by the noble Costaguti family in 1578.
The Costaguti ameliorated the palace through the ages, and eventually merged with another noble family, the Afan De Rivera.
The palace is nowadays one of Rome's most distinguished historical palaces, and it is one of the very few still owned by the same family after many centuries.
The owners are extremely kind and hospitable landlords, and they love to share their passion for history with guests.
Photo (right): The Costaguti Palace entrance and the Piazza Mattei slab seen from the Turtle Fountain.
Another facade of the palace faces a square which takes its name from it (Piazza Costaguti), yet the entrance today is from Piazza Mattei, near the Turtle Fountain. |
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Panoramic terrace
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Turtles' Dream apartment
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The Turtles Dream apartment takes up the higher floor of the Palace, and its windows face directly Piazza Mattei and the Turtle Fountain, as the left photo show.
The panoramic terrace is situated in the roof of the high palace. It is reached by means of an elevator.
Initially instead of the turtles there were four dolphins (in addition to the four on which the slender youth stand). They were replaced with turtles during the 1654 renovation. Their author was probably Bernini.
We named the apartment "The Turtles' Dream" as the Turtles, climbing on the basin of the fountain, seem to want to reach the beautiful apartment just above them. |
This is just the overview page: please go to the top index leading to the detailed presentation of the property
The "Turtles' Dream" apartment is endowed with elevator (you will not have to climb any steps!). We recommend that you climb at least once the grand stairs of the Palazzo.
The right photo shows a landing with access to three apartments of the "piano nobile".
Any detail is prepared with utmost care: columns, high-vaulted ceilings, capitals, steps, vases, lamps, tiles, doors, statues, bas-reliefs, benches to sit while climbing are impeccable.
The steps are also made of two types of marble: Carrara (from Tuscany), and Peperino from the Roman Castles. It is the one composing the steps to the right. It is now unobtainable, as it is not mined anymore. |
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| The fillet, or decorated fascia stretching through the entire perimetre of the sitting room, just below the ceiling. It displays peacock couples, and also the coat of arm of the Costaguti family (three sharpened gilded stripes pointing towards three eight-pointed stars with blue background). |
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In the wall of the sitting room facing the windows, overlooking the street Via dei Falegnami, - top left photo - you find the coat of arms of the noble and kindest owners.
It is a composite coat of arms, as the family includes two branches (right photo). On its left side you find the Costaguti symbols (described above), in the centre you find the main symbol of the Afan de Rivera family (three horizontal green lines with a gilded background), which is the graphical representation of the Spanish slogan "Por la gracias de Dios" (By the grace of God). You also find the symbol of the Enriquez family, which merged at some stage within the dinasty (standing red lion and the two towers). In the lower part, you find the motto of the Costaguti: "Evexit ad sidera virtus" (Latin), meaning "Virtue raised to the stars". |
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The apartment is endowed with an ample panoramic terrace, where you can bask under the sun, and especially where you can drink a glass of wine or have your meals "al fresco" with view of Rome's domes and sights. Please click here for its detailed presentation.
The right photo shows an outlook of the sitting and dining areas as you sit in the sofa. Having breakfast or a drink conversing with friends, surrounded by Rome's sights is a blissful experience.
The terrace is a roof garden, with many plants and vases, with an automatic watering system.
The terrace is accessed with the elevator.
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The apartment is endowed with a second patio near the bedroom.
It includes a comfy table, chairs and parasol.
It will enable you to have a relaxing and cosy place where to rest, to read a book while having a cup of tea, or to write your travel reports, or to dine "al fresco" or to drink a glass of wine with relatives and friends.
(Left): The internal patio. It is very quiet.
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The kitchen is also airy and bright, with large, high windows.
From the window facing Piazza Mattei you can see views of old Rome roofs, churches, and of the Turtle Fountain.
The table is ample, and can sit several persons.
On one side, as you can see in the foreground of this photo, it has ample drawers where to store food and appliances.
The kitchen is also remarkably equipped. |
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| In this photo we prepared the equipment enabling you to see it. |
| Left photo (from left to right): toaster and blender (mixer) on the kitchen table, fridge/freezer, traditional oven, 2 sinks, American coffee percolator, dishwasher, orange squeezer, electronic scales, microwave oven-griller, tea kettle, Italian coffee pot. |
For a detailed presentation of the rooms, please go to the INDEX on top of this page. |
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Complimentary - free - welcome food treats provided to guests as gesture of hospitality by the owners and by our team. A typical assortment is shown.
The supplies change with the seasons and with the number of persons, however they always include finest bottles of Italian wine, mineral water, bread, butter, buiscuits, cheese, jam, coffee powder, milk, tea, sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, vinegar, fruit, drinks etc. |
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