Parco Villa Fontedamo is a place where history, nature, and architecture have coexisted for over four centuries, nestled among the hills north of Clementina Road, in Jesi.
THE BIRTH OF
A RESIDENCE
Villa Fontedamo (also known as Villa Baldeschi Balleani) stands on a hill north of the Clementina Road in Jesi and has been owned by the Balleani family since 1612. In the early 1900s, it was inherited by Count Aurelio Baldeschi Guglielmi Balleani. Originally established as a rural estate with a manor house and a church dedicated to Saint Cajetan (1745), the complex was transformed in 1842, when Count Aurelio Guglielmi Balleani installed one of the city’s first silk mills there.
FROM SILK MILL
TO RESIDENCE
Only later was the building transformed into the elegant residence that has come down to us today. The restoration works were overseen by architect Giovanni Grilli and completed in 1855, while the design of the park was entrusted to the Florentine architect Giuseppe Nutini.
curiositIES...
THE 22nd OF OCTOBER AT FONTEDAMO
Fontedamo, or Fontadamo, or even Fonte Adamo: this is how the hamlet was—and still is—known, taking its name from the villa of the Counts Balleani on the left-hand side of the state road to Ancona, near the ZIPA industrial area. In the second half of the nineteenth century and in the early years of the twentieth century, two popular events were held there on October 22: the Fontedamo Fair in the morning and the Fontedamo Festival in the afternoon.
JESI AND SILK’S GOLDEN ERA
In the Marche region, the silk industry was central to the manufacturing system until the First World War, with its main hubs in Fossombrone, Jesi and Osimo. Jesi, known as “Little Milan”, was an industrially advanced city at the beginning of the twentieth century, with numerous factories. The leading sector was silk production, thanks to the industrial silk mills, including the one founded by Pasquale Mancini in 1837 and the Baldeschi Balleani silk mill, established in 1844 in the villa of Fontedamo.
THE BALLEANI SAGA
One of the most prominent noble families of Jesi, originally known as the Baligani after their progenitor Baligano. Feudal lords of Montemarciano until 1306, wealthy and powerful, they arrived in Jesi around the mid-thirteenth century. They played a leading role in the city’s political struggles, siding with the Ghibelline faction and standing in strong opposition to the Guelph families of the Simonetti and the Bisaccioni. In 1282 they succeeded in seizing control of the city, briefly removing it from papal authority, but they were soon expelled. After the period of conflict, the Baligani—who had by then become known as the Balleani—took part in the government of Jesi for about five centuries. The family line came to an end in 1717 with Count Nicolò Balleani, who left his inheritance to Count Gaetano Guglielmi, thereby uniting the two surnames.
TACITUS, A RESCUED MANUSCRIPT
Tacitus’s De Germania, a manuscript of great historical value, was kept for centuries by the Baldeschi Balleani family in the villa of Fontedamo, near Jesi. In the 1930s, the codex became the object of pressure from the Nazi regime, particularly from Himmler, but it was never handed over. After being hidden during the occupation and damaged in the 1966 Florence flood, the manuscript was restored and donated to the Italian State. Since 1994 it has been held in Rome in the National Central Library.
THE CARRIAGE LANE
The so-called Carriage Drive, which begins at the main gate—a genuine element dating back to the creation of the park—leads up to the large cedar, planted in 1936 to mark the birth of Ludovico, Aurelio’s firstborn son, and located in front of the Villa’s entrance. Halfway along the drive, on the right, stands an elegant iron gazebo, also original and contemporary with the construction of the Villa.
THE MYSTERIOUS
SWANS' LAKE
A path leads to the Lower Avenue, which runs along the edge of the park up to the so-called ‘Lake of the Mysterious Swans.’ The name comes from the almost legendary practice of periodically releasing swans into its waters, which, however, would invariably disappear.
The lake can be fully circumnavigated via a perimeter path, from which visitors can admire the central islet, connected to the shore by a wrought-iron footbridge. Continuing along, the avenue becomes known as the Lake Avenue, which leads back to the park’s main entrance.
NEOCLASSICAL
ELEGANCE
The villa, on the other hand, features a neoclassical layout, with a rectangular plan, developed over three floors plus a basement level and an attic.
The main façade on the ground floor opens onto a portico supported by Doric columns, at the center of which projects a pronaos topped by a balcony. The windows of the two upper floors include, on the piano nobile, decorations with pediments and lateral brackets. The hipped roof is concealed by an attic and finishes with a balustrade of small columns. The villa is still the residence of the owning family today, but it is not open to the public.
BETWEEN MONUMENTAL TREES AND WINDING PATHS
The park, with its natural and spontaneous character, features towering trees and a garden enriched with rare and exotic species, arranged according to the compositional principles of the Romantic taste of the era. The entire area is crossed by an intricate network of avenues and paths.
OPENING TO VISITORS
Reservations to visit the park will open in Summer 2026.
Visitors will be able to check availability and book tours directly on our website. The villa, however, will be accessible exclusively for private events by reservation only.