Carlo Ponti's former Rome villa for sale

(ANSA) - Florence, July 26 - A luxurious Roman villa that was the 1950s home of Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who was married to Sophia Loren, is on the market for 19 million euros.
    Located on the via Appia Antica, the villa hosted countless cinema luminaries, including directors Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini, as well as Hollywood stars such as Anthony Quinn and Kirk Douglas.
    Roman actor Alberto Sordi even shot the opening scene of his movie "A Taxi Driver in New York" at the villa.
    The property is 1,300 square metres overall, and has two rooms with ancient Roman mosaic flooring.
    It also includes a 1.5-acre park and a heated pool.
    It is being listed by Lionard Luxury Real Estate of Florence (http://www.lionard.it/villa-di-lusso-con-piscina-roma-1.html).
    The villa is described as a sort of "paradise" concealed within a bordering wall. The listing said Ponti used to receive his guests through the most modest of the three doors accessing the property, beyond which he would show them a room whose walls and ceiling were made of enormous tufa limestone blocks and whose floor had a Roman mosaic with the head of Medusa, all of which are still there.
    The property includes the main villa, which is two floors and 680 square metres, and a separate 600-square-metre residence (which is available for separate purchase as well).
    The main villa was built in the 1800s on the remains of an ancient basalt quarry that was used in construction of the via Appia Antica, the queen of Roman roads.
    It was modified several times in the 1950s, and was completely restored by the current owner, who bought it from the Ponti family in the 1980s.
    The property's park includes tall trees and ample green space, as well as the pool, a parking area, and some apartments with independent entrances. One of the entrances to the main villa, at the garden level, leads to another room with an ancient Roman mosaic on the floor and a concrete ceiling, on the same level as that of the room with the Medusa mosaic.
    On the upper level (which is also accessible by elevator), there are five bedrooms and bathrooms, a library, and a romantic winter garden.