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At the beginning of 1700 a Roman family, related with the great architect Lorenzo Bernini, moved to Bevagna and let restore as its residence a complex propriety, constituted by an elegant palace of 1600, overlooking the remains of a roman temple and of a theatre of the I Century a.d., over which were first built small fourteenth century habitations, then, in 1500, raised up the noble residence of an important family from Bevagna. The one who projected the restoring on behalf of the owners, worked with the thought of a genius. He didn’t try to harmonize such various and different identities by sacrificing some of them. He thought of what he had in front of him as of a unique body, to which he should give life. And in order to give life to a body, you only need to give it a heart. With this simple and solar idea, he inserted among the stone remains an unbelievable hanging garden. Once the heart was discovered, it was finally clear that many different things were a unique structure. It was in the year 1710.
From then on, with little interventions, almost everything remained unchanged, and the various “antiquities” still emerge from unmistakable architectural connotations. The heirs of the Counts Angeli Nieri Mongalli (succeded in the property from 1788), opened to hospitality this extraordinary place, called L’Orto degli Angeli after the hanging garden which, from three centuries, gives the breath of an unique body to limbs of such different origins. As a homage to the roots of their family and their country, they realized, with the support of the archaeological Supervising, a great work of excavations and restoration on the prestigious remains inside the property, (in particular the two ambulatories of a roman theatre of the I century A.D.). This way, after many centuries, they gave back to the daily fruition also these places of extraordinary suggestion, now hosting our restaurant Redibis. L’Orto degli Angeli was endowed from the region of Umbria with the qualification of “Historical Residence” for the high historical-architectural value and the quality of the furnishings, adapted to particular style of the hospitality.
The garden has always been the heart of the Residence and its charming atmosphere appeals to the different senses. It is a treat for your sight and smell with its old-age wistaria, the sweet-smelling jasmin, the beautiful clematis and the old-fashioned rose beds tended by the family and their experienced and famous friend Helga Brichet. It also has much to offer to your taste: in fact the lavender flowers are used for one of our delicious desserts. But the peace and quiet coming from this “green box” has older and deeper roots than those of the beautiful vegetation: in fact the garden lies on what was once the main ambulatory of the Roman theatre (I century A.D.), next to the “sacred” area of the old town, where the remains of two Roman Temples are still visible inside the property.The sacredness of the place derives both from its pagan origins and the revitalising Christian epiphanies of the Middle Ages.
Just think of St. Francis, who, on his way to Bevagna, preached to the birds while standing on a stone which is said to be the one kept in the old church next to the Residence, not to mention the Blessed Giacomo Bianconi, pride of the Dominican Order in the 14th century, who contributed to the rebirth of Bevagna. History, spiritual and cultural values still linger in the garden which looks like a stage with its blooming flowers surrounded by important Roman remains and medieval buildings. On one side Palazzo Andreozzi provides the backdrop with the view of its 18th-century frescoed ceilings, while on the other side Palazzo Alberti completes the scene with its precious 16th-century loggia. Reading a book or having a drink in this unique atmosphere will make you understand why, when asked “Can I help you?”, one of our guests answered: “Here there is all”.
Three important families from central Italy have lived in the building which includes two ancient dwellings: “Palazzo Alberti” and “Palazzo Andreozzi”. The Alberti family came to live in Bevagna in the 13th century. Donna Vanna di Celso Alberti married Giovanni Bianconi and their son Giacomo Bianconi (1220 1301) was a charismatic thaumaturge and friar, beatified by the Church. The Andreozzi family came from Rome in the 18th century; they went back to Rome after Gaetano Andreozzi’s marriage to Marchioness Maria Vienna Lepri Bernini. In 1788 Nicola Andreozzi sold the building to Carlantonio di Crispolto Angeli Nieri, chief consul of Bevagna, a member of the ancient Angeli family who had been living there since the 16th century. In 1811 Giuseppe Angeli Nieri’s son, Filippo, married Lucrezia Volumnia Mongalli, acquiring the title of Count Mongalli for his descendants.
This family, native to Leonessa, was already outstanding there in the 16th century. In 1686 Abbot Bernardino Mongalli was conferred the title of Lateran Count. Later the family moved to Spoleto, where Tiburzio Mongalli (1754-1801) married Caterina, the sister of Annibale dei Conti della Genga, who later became Pope Leone XII (1760-1829). The present owner of the palace is Francesco Antonini dei Conti Angeli Nieri Mongalli.
