The author investigates the reasons why cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini decided to build a new Roman villa
in the lower part of the Quirinale in Rome at the beginning of XVII Century. Primarily he needed it to host
his well-known collection of paintings, whose famous part were those robbed in Ferrara in 1598. The distinguished
elegant and sober building seems to be conceived expressly to favor the exhibition of the works of
modern and ancient art possessed by cardinal Pietro, so to demonstrate the birth of a new way to collect art
objects, based on relevant stylistic comparisons among masterpieces of the different “Maniere”.
