Villa Strohl-Fern

Rom · Italien · Manor

Romans called him Merlin the Magician. Since his death a white-bearded face has been seen behind the windows of the forgotten villa.

The Alsatian Alfred Wilhelm Strohl fled his homeland after the war of 1870 and built himself a villa in a hidden valley beside the Villa Borghese. There he lived shut away among books and artists' studios, was almost never seen outside, and with his long white beard became known in the neighbourhood as Merlino il Mago — Merlin the Magician. He died in 1926 and was buried in the Non-Catholic Cemetery by the Pyramid of Cestius, but the park was never quite emptied of him. Artists renting the studios describe a bearded face seen inside the windowpanes at dusk, lamplight in buildings that stand locked, and doors that swing open by themselves in the overgrown garden.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Villa Strohl-Fern?

Villa Strohl-Fern ligger i Rom, Italien.

Image: Marianne Sarah A. / CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons