University of Bologna auctions Federico Zeri's villa for €2.4 million

The University of Bologna has put Villa Zeri, the former home of renowned art critic Federico Zeri, up for auction at a price of €2.4 million. Located in Mentana near Rome, the villa was bequeathed to the university by Zeri, who died in 1998. The property includes a library, a photographic archive of over 290,000 images, and a collection of 400 ancient inscriptions, making it a significant cultural asset. Zeri, an eccentric scholar and connoisseur of Italian painting from the 13th to 16th centuries, built the villa in the 1960s with architect Andrea Busiri Vici. It served as his home, study, and private museum, housing paintings, sculptures, and antiquities. The university cites high maintenance costs as the reason for the sale, which comes as it prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of Zeri's death. The Zeri Foundation, originally based at the villa, moved to Bologna in 2010 along with the photographic archive and inscriptions for conservation reasons. The university is seeking agreements with the local municipality, businesses, and non-profits to preserve the villa's cultural value. Zeri's career included roles as director of the Galleria Spada in Rome, a key figure in establishing the J. Paul Getty Museum, vice president of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, and membership in the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received an honorary degree from the University of Bologna in 1998.