If your clients have always wanted their own little palazzo in Italy, they're in luck. The Telegraph is reporting that the Palazzo Orsini, a Renaissance palace in the center of Rome, is on the market. What makes the property unusual is a) its history and b) its pure over-the-top-ness.
The Palazzo is being sold by the family of Iris Origo, who wrote a book about her wartime experiences in Tuscany, War in the Val'D'Orcia, an Italian War Diary. Origo helped hide escaped Allied prisoners of war and refugee children during WWII.
The 11,000-square-foot palace, which is on the market for about $40 million, includes frescoed staterooms, a ballroom, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a library, a dining room, a terrace, a separate penthouse and cellars. The building, with a garden full of fountains and orange trees, is built on top of the still-standing stone and marble shell of the 1st century BC Theatre of Marcellus, which resembles a mini Colosseum.
The asking price is thought to make it the most expensive property currently on sale in the Italian capital, and one of the most expensive in Europe.
While Rome has dozens of magnificent palaces, they often remain in the same families for centuries and it is rare for one of them to be offered for sale.
Take a look at some photos and read more here.